Tura, Sept 13: An intervention by animal rights group PETA India has prompted police to register a first information report against a group of men accused of torturing and killing a pig at an unlicensed meat shop in Tura.
The FIR followed after PETA India flagged a disturbing video circulating on social media and lodged a formal complaint with authorities.
PETA India says it was alerted to an Instagram account that had posted footage of a pig being killed at an illegal meat shop. In the clip, the animal is doused with boiling water and appears to be skinned while still alive and conscious. Three people are seen taking part in the act while a fourth records it, with the carcass of another pig visible nearby. The same account reportedly carried other videos of pig slaughter and meat processing.
After PETA India lodged a complaint, West Garo Hills Superintendent of Police Abraham T Sangma ordered local police to register a suo moto FIR given the seriousness of the case. Araimile Police Station subsequently filed the case under Section 325 (cruelty to animals) and Section 3(5) (common intention) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, along with Section 11(1)(a) of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960.
Separately, the Assistant Commissioner of Food Safety for West Garo Hills, Tangme Ch. Marak, issued a notice to the shop under Sections 55 and 63 of the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, citing improper handling of animals and operation without a valid licence. The establishment has ten days to comply or face further legal action; PETA India has called on food safety officials to seal the shop.
Under Section 325 of the BNS, maiming or killing an animal is a cognizable offence carrying a jail term of up to five years, a fine, or both. Section 3(5) extends liability to everyone involved in a group act carried out with shared intent. The PCA Act’s Section 11 defines cruelty and criminalises inflicting unnecessary pain or suffering on an animal.
PETA India also pointed to Supreme Court directions that animals may only be slaughtered in licensed facilities, and to rules requiring such slaughterhouses to use species-appropriate stunning equipment before killing.
PETA India’s Lead Cruelty Response Officer, Sreekutty Bennet, praised the police and food safety officials for acting quickly, and used the case to renew the organisation’s call for people to give up eating meat. The group argues that a vegan diet cuts the risk of several chronic diseases and reduces the environmental toll linked to animal agriculture, including water pollution and land use, and points to UN findings on the need for a global shift toward plant-based eating to address climate change.
