A young member of the People for Animals at the protest rally on Tuesday. Picture by Eastern Projections

Dec. 9: Police arrested about 50 members of the People for Animals, an NGO, today for taking out a protest rally that urged people to forego animal sacrifice.

The activists of the Assam chapter of the PFA, which works for animal welfare, took out the procession from the NGO’s office in Uzan Bazar at 11.30am.

When the protesters reached Latasil playground via Fancy Bazar and M.G. Road, police prevented them from proceeding further.

“When we found that they had taken out the rally without taking the mandatory permission from the Kamrup (metro) district administration, we arrested them on charges of unlawful assembly,” a police official said.

The activists, including the PFA’s state unit president Sangeeta Goswami, were held at Latasil police station before being released on bail at 4pm.

Two PFA members from Surat and Bikaner, who had come to the city for the rally, and a city-based social worker, Hem Bhai, were among those arrested.

“It was a preventive arrest because during Id-ul-Zoha, faithfuls of Islam sacrifice animals. What we were apprehensive about was that any protest to this religious ritual may have created law and order problem,” the official added.

After being released by the police, Goswami said the PFA had applied to the district administration for permission but its request was ignored.

“That’s why we had to take out the rally without permission. Our rally was a peaceful one, requesting people to forego animal sacrifice as every religion prohibits bloodshed,” she said.

Miffed at the police action, she said the NGO would take up the matter with higher authorities.

“We will write to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Maneka Gandhi (the founder of the PFA) to complain about the state government’s action,” she added.

Goswami criticised the state government for not banning animal sacrifice for religious purposes when some of the states had already done it.

A district administration official said it was not sensible to allow such a procession during Id as it might lead to communal tension and create trouble for the police and the civil administration.

The Assam chapter of the PFA has staged demonstrations in the past to discourage people from practising animal sacrifice, but has never faced any such resistance from the police.

It had also filed a public interest litigation, seeking a ban on sacrifice of animals at religious places and strict implementation of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960. After hearing the PIL, Gauhati High Court had last week declined to ban animal sacrifice at places of worship, saying any such prohibitive order could have serious repercussions.