On September 7, media reported that a security guard of a housing society has been booked in Maharashtra's Palghar district for allegedly beating a stray dog to death.

The incident which took place on August 26, came to light just now after the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) were alerted by an animal lover.

The accused -- Pankaj Singh -- was booked under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) section 325 (concerning maiming or killing of animals). PETA said that punishment for such an offence be imprisonment up to five years or a fine or both.

Additionally, notices were issued to the accused and the agency that recruited him to appear before the police.

Such incidents, surprisingly, are not rare. In fact, they occur every now and then, making for headlines about animal cruelty.

August, 2024: A man had tied a dog to a pole and beaten him to death with metal wires, and if that wasn't enough, he tied the animal's lifeless body to his bike, dragged it and disposed of it in an agricultural field near his house in Telangana's Rangareddy district. A PETA activist -- Mudavath Preethi -- filed a complaint with the Moinabad Police Station against the accused and said that he had been arrested. As per a news agency ANI report, Preethi had pressed on the need for stricter animal protection laws.

July, 2024: A 50-year-old man in Maharashtra's Nandurbar had allegedly thrashed and dragged a dog by a rope, resulting in her death. A police official said that the accused, Madhav Gurav, had beaten the stray dog brutally with a stick, to a point where her eyes almost popped out. The injured dog was taken to a vet by an activist but she succumbed to her injuries. The accused was booked by the police under BNS Section 325.

May, 2024: Cruelty on humans and on animals, such a case emerged from Hyderabad's Rahmatnagar. What started as a clash between two families, soon turned violent for a mother, her daughter, son, and their pet Husky dog. An Economic Times report said that Madhu's family and their dog were on their way to cast postal ballots when the incident took place. The other family, that of Dhanunjay's, alleged that the dog had attacked them, following which in anger he and four other people assaulted Madhu's brother Srinath, his mother and another sister with iron rods. Madhuranagar police station had registered a case under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act.

April, 2024: A disturbing video of a brutal killing of a stray dog in Uttar Pradesh's Mathura surfaced on social media. In the purported video, a man was seen hitting a dog, already lying in a pool of blood, repeatedly with a stick, leading to its death. The video which sparked massive outrage, also prompted the UP police to take cognisance of the matter and take action.

March, 2024: A three to four-month-old street dog in Indore was brutally beaten to death with sticks for reportedly barking, causing disturbances for those in the locality. A young man mercilessly beat the dog to death.

February, 2024: Media reported the death of five puppies in Haryana's Faridabad, who were brutally assaulted and mutilated. In January, a puppy had been subjected to brutality in Mayur Vihar Extension, while the tongue another had been severed. The incident had irked massive anger among netizens, with several saying that animal cruelty laws in the nation aren't strong enough.

January, 2024: An 18-year-old boy and five others had been arrested and booked for beating a dog to death in Kolkata's Dhulagarh. Police took action against the teen under Indian Penal Code Sections 34, 428, 429 and Section 11 of Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act.

LAWS AGAINST ANIMAL CRUELTY IN INDIA

The basic cruelty law of the nation falls under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960, aimed at preventing the inflict of unnecessary pain or suffering on animals and to amend laws related to the prevention of animal cruelty.

According to Section 11 of the Act, if any person:

• beats, kicks, over-rides, over-drives, over-loads, tortures or otherwise treats any animal so as to subject it to unnecessary pain or suffering or causes or, being the owner permits, any animal to be so treated; or

• employs in any work or labour or for any purpose any animal which, by reason of its age or any disease, infirmity, wound, sore or other cause, is unfit to be so employed or, being the owner, permits any such unfit animal to be so employed; or

• wilfully and unreasonably administers any injurious drug or injurious substance to any animal or wilfully and unreasonably causes or attempts to cause any such drug or substance to be taken by any animal; or

• conveys or carries, whether in or upon any vehicle or not, any animal in such a manner or position as to subject it to unnecessary pain or suffering; or

• keeps or confines any animal in any cage or other receptacle which does not measure sufficiently in height, length and breadth to permit the animal a reasonable opportunity for movement; or

• keeps for an unreasonable time any animal chained or tethered upon an unreasonably short or unreasonably heavy chain or cord; or

• being the owner, neglects to exercise or cause to be exercised reasonably any dog habitually chained up or kept in close confinement; or

• being the owner of any animal, fails to provide such animal with sufficient food, drink or shelter; or

• without reasonable cause, abandons any animal in circumstances which render it likely that it will suffer pain by reason of starvation or thirst; or

• wilfully permits any animal, of which he is the owner to go at large in any street while the animal is affected with contagious or infectious disease or, without reasonable excuse permits any diseased or disabled animal, of which he is the owner, to die in any street; or

• offers for sale or, without reasonable cause, has in his possession any animal which is suffering pain by reason of mutilation, starvation, thirst, overcrowding or other ill-treatment; or

• mutilates any animal or kills any animal (including stray dogs) by using the method of strychnine injections in the heart or in any other unnecessarily cruel manner; or;

m) solely with a view to providing entertainment—

• confines or causes to be confined any animal (including tying of an animal as a bait in a tiger or other sanctuary) so as to make it an object of prey for any other animal; or

• incites any animal to fight or bait any other animal; or

• organises, keeps, uses or acts in the management of, any place for animal fighting or for the purpose of baiting any animal or permits or offers any place to be so used or receives money for the admission of any other person to any place kept or used for any such purposes; or

• promotes or takes part in any shooting match or competition wherein animals are released from captivity for the purpose of such shooting;

-- then he shall be punishable, in the case of a first offence, with fine which shall not be less than ten rupees but which may extend to fifty rupees and in the case of a second or subsequent offence committed within three years of the previous offence, with fine which shall not be less than twenty-five rupees but which may extend to one hundred rupees or with imprisonment for a term which may extend to three months, or with both.

The Act, however, does not apply to dehorning or castration of cattle, destruction of stray dogs in lethal chambers or extermination of any animal in the prescriber manner and under the authority of law.

Part IV of the Act covers Experimentation of animals. "Nothing contained in this Act shall render unlawful the performance of experiments (including experiments involving operations) on animals for the purpose of advancement by new discovery of physiological knowledge or of knowledge which will be useful for saving or for prolonging life or alleviating suffering or for combating any disease, whether of human beings, animals or plants," the section reads.

There is also a board for the purpose of official notifying and supervising experiments on animals.

Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita, 2023

Section 428 and 429 of the Indian Penal Code have been replaced by BNS Section 325. The section aims to prevent injustice inflicted on voiceless creates.

Section (2) of the act defines 'animal' as "any living creature, other than a human being".

BNS Section 325 says that anyone who commits mischief by killing, poisoning, maiming or rendering useless any animal shall be punished with a prison sentence which may extend up to five years, or with fine, or both.