Ranchi: Loharadaga police, that seized two trucks with buffaloes on Sunday night since the driver wasn't carrying documentation to explain where he had bought them from, were forced to free the animals on Monday after the truck owners appeared in a local court and paid a paltry fine of Rs 50 per truck.

Lohardaga police station OC Shailesh Prasad said they seized two laden trucks on Sunday. While one was carrying 35 buffaloes, the other was carrying 32.

"They only said that the animals had been purchased from a local cattle market and that their job was to take them to the Jharkhand-Bihar border, from where their new owners would be taking them elsewhere. We registered an FIR against them under Section 11 of Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, Motor Vehicles Act and Transport Regulations," said Prasad.

A senior police officer of the district admitted that they could not find any other law under which the suspected animal traffickers could be booked. "All through the night, we went through law books and also surfed the Net. But to no avail. We knew that nothing is going to happen to these people," he admitted.

On Monday morning, the truck owners reached the local district court and pleaded that the police be told to release their vehicles.

Section 11 of Prevention of Cruelty of Animals Act of 1960 says that if a person beats, kicks, over-loads, tortures animals so as to subject them to unnecessary pain or suffering he/she shall liable to pay a penalty of Rs 10 that may increased to Rs 50 if it was the first offence.

In the case of a second, or subsequent, offence committed within three years of the previous one, the penalty would be anything between Rs 25 to Rs 100 or imprisonment of up to three years or both.

"They were caught for the first time. They got maximum punishment (Rs 50 penalty) prescribed by the law. Hence, they were free," the Lohardaga OC said.