FIR Registered Against Illegal Sacrifice of Goats and Chickens at Sri Shakti Karumariamman Temple, Bengaluru, Following PETA India Intervention
After receiving information about a ritual taking place involving the illegal sacrifice of goats and chickens at Sri Shakti Karumariamman Temple in Chikkajala, Bengaluru—PETA India worked with local activists, to gather evidence and submit a complaint to the Chikkajala police station, seeking immediate intervention to stop the sacrificial ritual and for the registration of an FIR.
The local activists, Mahesh Udupa, Sai Lohith and Rahul Ravihal, upon witnessing bloody scenes of goats and chickens having their throats slit in broad daylight in front of the temple, as also seen in recorded footage, immediately alerted authorities by calling 112. The sacrifice was halted upon the arrival of the police. Subsequently, based on the evidence collected, a complaint was filed at the Chikkajala Police Station. Acting on the complaint, the Chikkajala Police Station registered an FIR under Sections 3, 5, and 6 of the Karnataka Prohibition of Animal Sacrifices Act, 1959, and Section 325 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023.
The complaint also cited the Karnataka Prevention of Animal Sacrifices Act, 1959, which, under Section 3, strictly prohibits the sacrifice of animals in or within the precincts of any place of public religious worship, or during any related congregation or procession. Section 4 prohibits any person from officiating, assisting, or participating in such sacrifices, and Section 5 bans the use of any place of public religious worship for this purpose. Section 6 makes violations of Sections 3, 4, and 5 punishable offences.
Also, PETA India highlighted that killing animals illegally by several persons in furtherance of a common intention is a punishable offence under Section 3(5) of the BNS, 2023. Under Section 325 of the BNS, mischievously killing animals is punishable with imprisonment for a term that may extend to five years, a fine, or both.
Gujarat, Kerala, Puducherry, and Rajasthan already have laws in place prohibiting the religious sacrifice of any animal in any temple or its precinct. Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, and Telangana prohibit it in any place of public religious worship, adoration, its precinct, or any congregation or procession connected with religious worship on a public street.
