In an incident enough to make one lose faith in humanity, 5 street dogs were brutally killed by acid attack in Ujjain. After the incident, the Ujjain police filed a case against the unidentified man. The case was registered after an NGO raised alarm over the act and took to the police. The unidentified accused has now been slapped with relevant sections of the Indian penal Code.
Details
Trigger Warning – Animal Abuse
Crime against animals in India, is more common than one would like to admit. From pets to street animals, to even wild animals in their own habitat – humans have inflicted relentless harm to creatures.
This has been especially evident in the past few years, thanks to free flow of internet where one can read the news of attacks on mute animals for selfish or senseless reasons.
Unfortunately, the incidents are reported by the media, people create outrage around the incident, and that’s it. Meanwhile, the animals remain unavenged and the culprit, for the most part, end up receiving a small fine or a few nights behind the lockup.
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Facts of the Matter
In an incident enough to make one wince and shudder, as many as 5 street dogs were brutally killed by unidentified accused. The culprits, according to reports, poured acid on the mute animals who could do little more than howling in pain and resting their eyes in the end.
Indore-Based NGO Receives Call
The incident was reported after an Indore-based animal rights NGO called People for Animals was called about the brutal attack on the street dogs in Ujjain, 55km away from Indore. “We got information on our helpline that unidentified persons had poured acid on the mouths of five stray dogs in Nagjhiri police station area of Ujjain on Wednesday,” said an NGO official.
Reportedly, the case was filed against the unidentified accused when the members of the NGO approached the police officers in the respective jurisdiction. The dogs, according to reports, were taken to the nearby veterinary facility, where they eventually died.
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CCTV Footage Examined, Case Registered
After registering the case, Nagjhiri police station sub-inspector was quoted saying that the police were looking at the CCTV footage to nab the suspects. The unidentified barbaric accused person(s) is/are booed under section 428 (Mischief by killing or maiming animal), section 429 of the Indian Penal Code. Further, the accused is also booked under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act.
State of Animal Cruelty in India
It should be noted that India’s apex crime data coalition body National Crime Bureau provides granular report of crimes committed in India. In its reports, the NCB shares state wise and city wise data of crimes committed such as rape, murder, theft, etc. Interestingly, no Center approved body documents crime inflicted on animals in India.
No Data – No Accountability – No Changes
This is a much larger problem than one would assume, as lack of data means lack of accountability. And lack of accountability would mean lack of any administrative changes to combat animal cruelty issues in India.
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Horrific Findings of Recent Report
However recently, the Federation of Indian Animal Protection Organization collaborated with All Creatures Great and Small and shared a report of crimes against animals. The report titled ‘In Their Own Right: Calling for Parity in Law for Animal Victims of Crimes’ claims that between 2010-2020, as many as 4,93,910 animals became crime victims.
In the first of its kind documentation of animal related cruelty, the report stated that street dogs were the biggest victims of animal abuse.