Case against NGO after 4 cows die due to ‘neglect’
The complaint, filed by Agra Nagar Nigam staff at New Agra police station on Sunday, accused the SPCA team of failing to care for the animals, as per the 2003 agreement under which the Agra Nagar Nigam leased 9,680 square yards of land to the organisation to provide free treatment and upkeep of cow family members.
A case has been registered against the secretary and staff of the Society for Prevention of Cruelty Against Animals (SPCA), a non-profit organisation, in Agra, following the deaths of four cows reportedly due to neglect.
The complaint, filed by Agra Nagar Nigam staff at New Agra police station on Sunday, accused the SPCA team of failing to care for the animals, as per the 2003 agreement under which the Agra Nagar Nigam leased 9,680 square yards of land to the organisation to provide free treatment and upkeep of cow family members.
The issue came to light when district magistrate (DM) Arvind Mallappa Bangari and Nagar Ayukt Ankit Khandelwal conducted an inspection at the SPCA unit on Sunday. During their visit, they observed widespread irregularities in the upkeep of animals, prompting the Nagar Nigam staff to file the case under sections 221, 132, and 11(1)(h), (i), (j) of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960.
According to the FIR, on November 7, 16 cows were transported to the SPCA unit for treatment in a Nagar Nigam cattle-catching vehicle. However, SPCA secretary Dhirendra Sharma allegedly refused to accept them and misbehaved with the Nagar Nigam staff. The animals were eventually left near the unit’s gate, unattended. When a veterinary officer visited the facility later, he found the animals still at the gate, waiting for care. An outsourced veterinarian was called to treat the animals, but by the time treatment commenced, four cows had already succumbed.
The Agra Nagar Nigam stated in its complaint that the SPCA’s refusal to treat the animals promptly led to unnecessary suffering and deaths, amounting to animal cruelty. Consequently, the Agra Nagar Nigam has cancelled the lease agreement with SPCA, and authorities are investigating the organisation’s compliance with its duty of care under the 2003 agreement.