Kendrapara, April 28: Police today arrested one person and are on the lookout for six others for sacrificing 80 goats to appease the local goddess as part of a traditional ritual at Satabhaya village in Kendrapara district.

The six who are evading arrest include the caretaker and the management committee members of Panchuvaravi shrine. This is the first time that the police have cracked down on killing of animals as part of religious ritual.

“Dhaneswar Samal, who slaughtered about 80 goats on Thursday — Chaitra Purnima — was arrested under Section 429 of the Indian Penal Code and Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1986. He was later remanded in jail custody after a local court rejected his bail application. He was forced to perform the ritual by the temple management committee members,” said Rajnagar police station inspector Mrutunjaya Swain.

The police and civil administration had earlier convened a meeting with the local people during which they had been urged to stop the practice as it violated law. The local residents had even agreed not to sacrifice the animals.

Police forces were deployed at the site. “But they performed the sacrifice after the forces were withdrawn,” Kendrapara superintendent of police Sarthak Sarangi said.

Some people alleged that the cops co-operated with the local residents in performing the ritual. An inquiry conducted into it could not verify the charges, Sarangi said.

Local residents in these vulnerable seaside areas widely believe that a sacrificial ritual of this kind would save them from natural calamities.

About 80 animals were slaughtered as a part of the religious ritual at a Shakthi shrine on Thursday afternoon. Hundreds congregated to witness the killings.

The practice of sacrificing animals is in accordance with age-old rituals followed by worshippers of the Shakhti cult. This practice is observed twice a year during Durga puja and Chaitra Purnima.

“Local residents firmly believe that deities will shield the villages from nature’s fury. Offering animals is a gesture of reverence towards the goddess who ensures the safety of our crop, livestock and families,” said Sashmita Das, former sarpanch, Satabhaya gram panchayat.