Tripura man charged with animal cruelty after dragging dog behind a vehicle

Tripura Police on March 15 arrested one person after he tied a puppy with the boot of a four-wheeler engaged in public transport and dragged it along the road in the South Tripura district.

Soon after the video of the incident went viral on social media, NGOs and volunteer groups working in the field of animal welfare and protection filed FIRs against the driver of the vehicle identified as Abhijit Pal and demanded strict action.

Later, Chief Minister Dr Manik Saha on his Facebook said, "Police arrested the accused in connection with the brutal act of dragging a puppy by a vehicle.  The vehicle has also been seized and the police are taking further legal action".

Also Read: Assam: YouTuber arrested for offering to sell parakeets on social media

Earlier, a person has been arrested in Assam’s Kokrajhar district for allegedly offering to sell parakeets on his YouTube channel on March 13. 

Further, the accused was apprehended by Gossaiagaon Police and later handed over to the Forest department. 

As per reports, the Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) of Kachugaon, Bhanu Sinha said that the accused, Jahidul Islam, was arrested on the basis of a complaint by People for Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA). 

“After receiving the complaint, the local police as well as our department located the person. He was arrested by the police from Gossaigaon on Friday and the next day, he was handed over to us,” Sinha said. The person was produced before the local court the same day and was sent to judicial custody, the official said. 

“Two parakeets were recovered from Islam. The involvement of any other person will be known after investigation,” Sinha said. Catching, trapping and sale of parakeets are illegal under the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972. The animals’ rights body had filed the complaint against Islam for his YouTube channel ‘Jahid Lifestyle’ which has videos of the accused and his accomplices entering forested areas, climbing trees to reach the nests of parakeets and catching them.