Animal rights activists protesting against bull fights, traditionally organised in villages as part of post-Diwali festivities, were full of praise for Ulhasnagar Hill Line police officers on Thursday after they came to know that the cops themselves had registered a suo motto FIR against organisers of one such fight in Bhalgaon village near Kalyan.
The police received information about a bull fight being organised on November 14, in which a villager was severely injured when one of the two fighting bulls attacked him. A video of the incident showed that as the two bulls were readied for a fight, one of them suddenly turned and attacked a local standing nearby. After initial investigation, an FIR was registered on Wednesday.
Senior police inspector Mohan Waghmare said, "No one from the village was ready to co-operate. So we decided to file an FIR suo motto against the organiser and participants of the festival. I asked one of the constables to be a complainant." Waghmare said the case has been registered under sections 338 (causing grievous hurt by act endangering life or personal safety of others) and 336 (act endangering life or personal safety of others) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
"I got to know about the bull fight and decided to file a complaint. I went to the Ulhasnagar Hill Line police station on Thursday and was surprised to find out that the cops had themselves registered a complaint," said Shakuntala Majumdar of Thane Society for Prevention of Cruelty against Animals (TSPCA).
Majumdar said at several places, to ensure that the bulls were enraged enough to fight, they were kept in dark rooms for days, which made them disoriented. Sometimes they were kept hungry and fed alcohol. "All this is cruelty.
Many bulls gets severely injured during the fights. Drums are beaten and loud noise is created to make them angry. All this causes a lot of trauma," she said.
Majumdar added that she has spoken with cops regarding the matter. "We have decided that along with the cops, the activists will visit these villages to spread awareness and sensitise people about the issue."
