Nagaon: FIR Registered Against “Artist” for Tearing Apart Goat & Beheading Pigeon During a Stage Performance, Following PETA India Intervention
After being alerted to videos showing so-called artist Pranju (Pranjal) Saikia dragging and then apparently tearing apart a young goat and seemingly beheading a pigeon during a stage performance, PETA India worked with Nagaon Police to get a first information report (FIR) registered.
In the videos, the accused can be seen dragging the goat, and then he goes backstage, the curtain falls and then comes back on stage holding the bleeding limb of the goat, and in another video from his earlier performance, the accused picks up the pigeon from the prop tree and beheads the bird by biting with his teeth and bare hands. Reportedly, this was the 26th such performance, which means 26 other goats and pigeons were killed. The FIR has been registered under Sections 325 & 3(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023; and Section 11(1)(a) and 11(1)(l) of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (PCA) Act, 1960, against the performer and the organisers of the event Dadul Bordoloi and Pranju Saikia. The accused persons were arrested and released on bail, and the police investigation is on.
PETA India commends Nagaon Police, especially Senior Superintendent of Police, Shri Swapnaneel Deka, for directing immediate action in this matter and the officer-in-charge of Jajori police station, Shri Tanuj Kumar Doley, for registering the FIR and sending the message that cruelty to animals will not be tolerated.
PETA India recommends that perpetrators of animal abuse undergo a 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 states, “Those who engage in cruelty to animals 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PETA India has long campaigned to strengthen the PCA Act, 1960, which contains outdated, inadequate penalties, such as a maximum fine of only Rs 50 for convicted first-time offenders (although the BNS, 2023, prescribes stronger punishments).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 PCA Act, PETA India has recommended significantly increasing penalties for cruelty to animals.
