FIR Registered Against Serial Cat Killer(s) After Nearly 20 Cats Found Dead and Mutilated in Chembur, PETA India Offers Reward of Up to Rs. 50,000 Leading to Arrest

For Immediate Release:

09 September 2026

Contact:

Meet Ashar; [email protected]

Shruti Shah; [email protected]

Chembur — After learning that nearly 20 cats have been killed and their mutilated bodies found by local caregiver, Rubeena Pathan, in the Panjrapole area of Chembur, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals India (PETA India) worked with RCF Police Station and the local caregiver of the cats to ensure that a first information report (FIR) was registered under the relevant provisions of the law. The identity of the accused person(s) are currently unknown, and the police are actively examining nearby CCTV footage to gather information on the suspect(s). To help, PETA India is offering a reward of up to Rs 50,000 to anyone who provides information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons responsible for killing these animals.

In August, the local caregiver Rubeena found mutilated bodies of cats. On 4 September, she discovered six more mutilated bodies, with the cats’ internal organs visible. The next morning, on 5 September, she found one dead cat and a kitten in a severely distressed condition. A complaint was filed on 9 September, and an FIR was registered the same day.

The FIR has been registered under Section 325 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023, and Sections 11(1)(a) and 11(1)(l) of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (PCA) Act, 1960. Section 325 of the BNS, 2023, categorises mischief by killing, poisoning, maiming, or rendering useless 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.

Anyone with information about this crime can contact PETA India at [email protected]. Informants’ identities will be kept confidential upon request.

“Those who abuse animals often move on to harming other animals and humans. For everyone’s safety, it’s imperative that members of the public report cruelty to animals such as this one to the police,” says PETA India Cruelty Response Officer Ishani Rathee. “We commend Shri Dattatray Patil, Senior Police Inspector of RCF Police Station, for directing the registration of the FIR and sending a clear message that cruelty to animals will not be tolerated.”

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 stated, “Those who engage in cruelty to animals to animals were [three] times more likely to commit other crimes, including murder, rape, robbery, assault, harassment, threats, and drug/substance abuse.”

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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