Andhra Pradesh Police arrested five persons for allegedly decapitating a ram (male sheep) at a movie theatre here before the screening of 'Daaku Maharaj' movie on January 12, said an official on Saturday.

Acting on a complaint from the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), sent by email, police arrested Shankaraiah, Ramesh, Suresh Reddy, Prasad and Mukesh Babu for beheading the ram and smearing its blood on the wall poster of the actor N Balakrishna, who did lead role in the movie.

A popular Tollywood actor and Hindupur MLA Balakrishna is brother-in-law of Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu.

"An email came from PETA. They lodged the complaint through email to the SP. On that day (January 16) we conducted an enquiry and registered a case in Tirupati east police station," Tirupati East sub-divisional police officer Venkat Narayana told PTI.

Narayana said police are also on the lookout for other people who are suspected to have been a part of this animal sacrifice.

A video of the decapitation went viral in which hundreds of onlookers and moviegoers were seen cheering and capturing the act on their cell phones as one of the accused persons heaved a sickle to behead the animal.

According to police, the ram was sacrificed around 3 am on January 12 when the Balakrishna-starrer movie was released to coincide with Sankranti festival.

A case was registered against the five under Section 4 & 5 read with 6 and 8 of Andhra Pradesh Animal and Bird Sacrifices Provision Act, 1950, Section 3, Section 11 (1) A and Section 11 (1) clause 2 of the Prevention of Cruelty of Animals Act, 1960 and Sections 325 and 270 of BNS Act. However, all the five were given bail immediately, Narayana added.

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