The Santacruz police have arrested a peon with a private firm in Santacruz for allegedly murdering a two-month-old kitten by ramming it into a wall and bashing its head in with a bamboo stick.
Yuvraj Bhavsar, who has cared for the kitten and its mother for the last two years, said the incident occurred on May 6 in MR Society in Santacruz, where he has his office, when he had stepped out for lunch.
“I have cared for Ginger ever since the cat wandered into my office compound two years ago. It was under my care that Ginger delivered three kittens: Samson, Hop and Bop. When I returned after lunch on May 6, I found Samson lying dead in the compound. I went over to the firm next to my office and with the permission of the authorities viewed the footage of their CCTV camera. The footage showed their peon catching Samson by the tail, ramming him into the wall and then hitting him on the head with a bamboo stick,” Mr. Bhavsar told The Hindu .
Mr. Bhavsar then requested the peon’s employers to sack him, but they refused.
“For the next 20 days, I kept reasoning with them, and they kept refusing. I tried to make them understand that a life had been lost, but they were adamant. I later learned that they had loaned some money to the peon and wanted to recover it from him. While I understood their stand, Samson had lost his life for no reason, and I needed justice for him. Left with no option, I approached the police. In the meantime, I also got in touch with the People for Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), and they guided me,” he said.
The Santacruz police registered an FIR against the peon, Manoj Angane, on May 26, and he was arrested two days ago. Senior Police Inspector Shantanu Pawar said, “We have charged Angane with killing an animal under the Indian Penal Code along with sections of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act.” Angane was subsequently granted bail by the court, and the police are conducting further inquiries against him.
A born cat lover, Mr. Bhavsar is no stranger to cruelty to animals. “There have been instances in the past where one of my cats has died after its drinking water was poisoned. Even Samson was limping a few days before he was killed, and I suspect he fell prey to someone’s cruelty on that occasion as well. It is just sad that people attach so little importance to the lives of animals,” he said.
