2 women who fed meat to strays near Mahalaxmi temple get pre-arrest bail

The court observed that given the nature of allegations and offences, the two women could be released on anticipatory bail

MUMBAI: The sessions court has granted pre-arrest bail to two women who outraged the sentiments of Hindus by allegedly feeding chicken, meat and fish to stray dogs and cats near the Mahalaxmi temple.

Mumbai, India - Oct. 10, 2021: Devotees stand in queue to offer their prayer to Goddess Mahalaxmi during hindu festival of Navratri at Mahalaxmi Temple in Mumbai, India, on Sunday, October 10, 2021. (Photo by Anshuman Poyrekar/Hindustan Times) (Anshuman Poyrekar/HT Photo)

Additional sessions judge NP Tribhuwan granted bail to Nandini Belekar and Pallavi Patil, observing that the women were booked for offences punishable with maximum three years’ imprisonment and given the nature of allegations and offences, they could be released on anticipatory bail.

The Gamdevi police had booked Belekar from Jogeshwari and Patil from Mira Road East under sections 295 (defiling place of worship with intent to insult the religion of any class), 295A (deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings of any class), 504 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of the peace) and 506 (criminal intimidation) and 34 (common intention) of Indian Penal Code.

The FIR was registered following a complaint by Shila Shaha, a local activist. She stated that thousands of Hindu devotees visited Mahalaxmi temple and often, the queue stretched till the nearby Dhakaleshwar temple. Belekar and another woman (Patil) visited the spot frequently and fed mutton, chicken and fish to stray dogs and cats near the place of worship, she claimed.

“Locals requested the women not to feed mutton, chicken and fish to the strays and not to defile the place of worship several times, but they did not stop and deliberately continued with their act to outrage the religious feelings of devotees,” she told the police.

Shaha further stated that the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) had designated a fixed place and time for feeding strays and only pedigree and solid food was allowed to be served. But the two women continued to feed non-vegetarian food to strays and abused and threatened the complainant and other residents of the locality, she said.

Following the registration of the FIR, Belekar and Patil approached the sessions court apprehending arrest. They said they had been feeding strays near Ghetto Bar and Shobha Hotel for the over seven years, at a spot demarcated by the BMC and adhering to guidelines issued by the Animal Welfare Board of India. The women claimed that Shaha was using the name of the local MLA to try to pressurise them.

The police opposed the women’s plea in court, claiming there were some other criminal cases registered against the two women. But the argument failed to impress the court, which granted them anticipatory bail.