BHUBANESWAR: A 68-year-old man of the City was arrested and subsequently remanded in judicial custody for allegedly sexually assaulting a stray dog in City’s Patia area. The accused was booked under Section 377 of IPC (unnatural sexual offence) and Section 11 of PCA Act (for treating animals cruelly). The accused was working as a security guard at an apartment near Infocity where the incident took place on Saturday.
After being informed by residents, Infocity Police arrested and produced him before the magistrate on Sunday. The animal’s medical examination was conducted at Saheed Nagar Veterinary Hospital. It was handed over to one of the complainants Purabi Patra, who runs an animal shelter on outskirts of the City.
Meanwhile, animal rights activists consider the arrest as a significant development and demand stricter amendment of Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (PCA) Act, 1960.
In most cases of animal cruelty, the accused get bail as cases are often registered under Sections 428 and 429 of IPC. For these sections, the maximum sentence period is less than seven years. Not just that, most sections of PCA Act treat several offences as non-cognizable and bailable. This makes it easier for the accused to escape imprisonment either by securing bail or paying penalty, often as little as `50.
It’s a rare instance that the non-bailable Section 377 of IPC, which is also applicable for humans, was considered for registering the FIR.
“It’s time for the Government to come up with stringent laws for crime against animals,” demanded Patra. She claimed that in a previous case, which had triggered protest in the City, the accused got bail after killing a pregnant dog last month.