Central Government Body Animal Welfare Board of India Urges Action on 10 Dogs Allegedly Killed by Police Inspector in Chhattisgarh

For Immediate Release:

25 July 2025

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Kanker – The Animal Welfare Board of India (AWBI), a statutory body under the Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying, Government of India, has called on Chhattisgarh authorities to conduct an enquiry and to take immediate action on the alleged killing of 10 community dogs by Pawan Thakur, Thana Inspector of Orchha Police Station, in Kanker. The intervention by AWBI follows a complaint filed by the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals India (PETA India) based on viral videos circulated on social media and reportage of the barbaric incident in the press.

According to a media report, the officer allegedly shot the dogs over three consecutive days (08 to 10 July) using a firearm, inflicting fatal injuries to heads, spines and limbs. One dog was reportedly left to suffer overnight before dying. The carcasses of the dogs were stuffed into sacks and dumped near a riverbank, apparently in the presence of other police personnel, suggesting possible collusion.

In its letter to the Superintendent of Police (SP), Kanker, and the Member Secretary of the Chhattisgarh State Animal Welfare Board cum Director of the Livestock Development Department, Government of Chhattisgarh, the AWBI has called for a thorough enquiry and stringent action under applicable laws, including Section 11(1)(l) of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (PCA) Act, 1960 and Section 325 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, which provides imprisonment of up to five years, or fine, or both, for maiming or killing any animal. Copies of this letter were also marked to the District Collector, Kanker, and the Director General of Police, Chhattisgarh.

The AWBI also cited directives from the Department of Personnel and Training, Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions, Government of India, which state that acts of cruelty to animals by government servants constitute serious misconduct and are punishable under both the PCA Act, 1960 and the Central Civil Services (Conduct) Rules, 1964 for behaviour unbecoming of a public servant.

“We commend the AWBI for taking prompt cognisance of this serious matter and are grateful for its firm intervention,” said Virendra Singh, Cruelty Response Coordinator at PETA India. “As the country’s apex statutory animal welfare body, the AWBI’s action reinforces the fact that nobody is above the law and that cruelty to animals must not be tolerated.”

Considering the cognisable nature of the offence, PETA India, in its complaint, has requested SP Kanker to register a Suo Moto First Information Report (FIR). PETA India has also called for an independent departmental inquiry, immediate suspension of the officer pending inquiry, and his dismissal if found guilty, emphasising that such conduct not only violates Indian laws but also brings disrepute to the police force entrusted with its enforcement.

PETA India – whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to abuse in any way” – opposes speciesism, a human-supremacist worldview. For more information, please visit PETAIndia.com or follow the group on X, Facebook, or Instagram.

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