A man who killed a rat by drowning may land in jail for 5 years plus a fine up to 2000 Indian rupees.
According to Indian media, Utter Pradesh Police filed a 30-page charge sheet in a Budaun court against Manoj Kumar as he allegedly tied a stone to the rat's tail and drowned it in a drain in November last.
The postmortem report of the rat has also been included in this charge sheet. On the basis of this charge sheet, the court has to pass judgment in this case.
The case came to the spotlight as animal rights activist Vikendra Sharma filed a complaint.
Sharma said he entered the drain to rescue the rat but failed. He then reached the police station along with other animal lovers and filed an FIR.
At the station, Sharma was told that there was no facility for the postmortem of a rat in the district.
Later, the rat's carcass was sent to Bareilly's Indian Veterinary Research Institute center for a post-mortem.
The autopsy report revealed that the rat's liver and lungs were already damaged. It also added that the rat did not die due to drowning, but due to suffocation.
On the basis of the FIR, the police arrested the accused, but he was granted bail after five days.
Meanwhile, the police filed a 30-page charge sheet in the court regarding the case.
According to legal experts, in the case of the Animal Cruelty Act, there is a provision of a fine ranging from Indian Rs10 to Rs2000 and imprisonment of three years. Under Section 429, there is also a provision for imprisonment of five years and a fine.