Agra: FIR for Acid Attack on Dogs Updated With Section 325 of the BNS, 2023, After PETA India Steps In
Following the horrific incident of an acid attack on four community dogs that resulted in the death of a dog and left three others grievously injured, PETA India intervened to ensure that justice would be served to the fullest extent of the law by working to have relevant stringent provisions added to the first information report (FIR) that were not included when it was initially registered on 18 August. PETA India fired off a letter to the station house officer (SHO) of Nai Ki Mandi Police Station requesting that Section 325 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023, be included in the FIR. The three injured dogs are recuperating under the care of Casper’s Home Trust, a local non-governmental organisation.
An FIR was initially registered against an unknown individual under Section 11(1)(l) of The Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (PCA) Act, 1960, following a complaint from Smt Vineeta Arora of Casper’s Home Trust. After PETA India’s intervention, a stringent provision – Section 325 of the BNS, 2023 – has now been incorporated into the FIR. This provision makes the maiming or killing of any animal a cognisable offence and provides for a jail term of up to five years, a fine, or both. A Delhi court recently sentenced a man to one year of imprisonment and a fine of Rs 10,000 for throwing acid on a dog. The concerned court noted, “Letting off such a person with less punishment and granting any leniency to the convict will convey an adverse message to society.”
PETA India recommends that perpetrators of animal abuse undergo psychiatric evaluation and receive counselling, as abusing animals indicates a deep psychological disturbance. Research shows that people who commit acts of cruelty to animals are often repeat offenders who move on to hurting other animals, including humans. A study published in Forensic Research & Criminology International Journal stated, “Those who engage in animal cruelty were [three] times more likely to commit other crimes, including murder, rape, robbery, assault, harassment, threats, and drug/substance abuse.”
PETA India has long campaigned for strengthening the PCA Act, 1960, which contains outdated, inadequate penalties, such as a maximum fine of only Rs 50 for convicted first-time offenders (although the BNS, 2023, prescribes stronger punishments). In a proposal sent to the central government regarding an amendment to the act, PETA India recommended significantly increasing penalties for cruelty to animals.
