Hyderabad: FIR Registered for Goat Sacrifice Following Action by SAFI Hyderabad and PETA India
After learning that a group of men had sacrificed a goat at Rishal Bazar apparently for Bodu Raai rituals, Stray Animal Foundation of India (SAFI) and PETA India successfully facilitated the registration of a first information report (FIR) at Bollaram Police Station.
The disturbing incident was captured on video, showing men carrying a terrified goat while one of the men bites the neck of the goat for sacrifice in full public view.
PETA India coordinated with the Bollaram Police Station to register the FIR, following a complaint filed by Mr Adulapuram Goutham, Cruelty Prevention Manager at SAFI, Hyderabad. The FIR has been registered against the individual seen in the video under Section 325 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023, Section 6 of the Telangana Animals and Birds Sacrifices Prohibition (TABSP) Act, 1950 and Section 11(1)(a) and 11(1)(l) of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (PCA) Act, 1960.
Section 325 of the BNS, 2023, categorises the maiming or killing of any animal as a cognisable offence and prescribes a punishment of imprisonment for a term which may extend to five years, or with a fine, or with both. Section 6 of the TABSP Act, 1950, makes it punishable for any person to knowingly allow any sacrifice to be performed at any place that is in their possession or under their control, as well as for anyone who officiates, performs, or participates in the sacrifice of an animal in any congregation. Section 11 of the PCA Act, 1960, defines “cruelty” and makes the infliction of unnecessary pain or suffering upon any animal a punishable offence.
We commend Sri Ravi Kumar, Inspector, Bollaram Police Station, Hyderabad, for swiftly directing the registration of the FIR and sending the message that cruelty to animals will not be tolerated. Animal sacrifice is both cruel to animals and a danger to society. It desensitises us to violence and reinforces obsolete beliefs that hinder progress. Just as human sacrifice is now treated as murder, at a time when India is advancing its AI infrastructure, the archaic practice of animal sacrifice must end. It is a necessity for our societal evolution.
The Supreme Court has ordered that animals can be slaughtered only in licensed slaughterhouses and that municipal authorities must ensure compliance with this ruling. The Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Slaughter House) Rules, 2001, and the Food Safety and Standards (Licensing and Registration of Food Businesses) Regulations, 2011, permit the slaughter of animals for food only in licensed slaughterhouses equipped with species-specific stunning equipment.
Gujarat, Kerala, Puducherry, and Rajasthan already have specific laws in place prohibiting the religious sacrifice of any animal in any temple or its precinct. Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, and Telangana prohibit it in any place of public religious worship, adoration, or its precinct, or in any congregation or procession connected with religious worship on a public street.
