A woman was arrested over the killing of eight puppies, who were allegedly stuffed inside a sack and drowned in a pond on the premises of the Ishwardi Upazila Parishad in Pabna.
Nishi Khatun, wife of Hasanur Rahman Noyon — an officer of the Small Farmers Foundation — was arrested at 1:00 am on Wednesday from a rented house, confirmed Pranab Kumar, additional superintendent of Ishwardi circle police.
Earlier, Ishwardi Upazila Livestock Officer Aklima Khatun filed the case on Tuesday night (2 December) after Adviser to the Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock, Farida Akter, phoned her about the incident. Ishwardi Police Station Officer-in-Charge (OC) Abdun Noor confirmed the matter.
Aklima Khatun said the case was filed around 9:00 pm under Section 7 of the Animal Welfare Act, 2019, on behalf of the Director General of the Department of Livestock Services. Nishi Khatun has been named as the accused.
Nishi Khatun
She added that the incident has been widely covered in national newspapers, online portals, television channels, and social media. Adviser Farida Akter described the act as inhumane and said, “This incident has tarnished the image of the country. Those involved in killing the animals will not be spared.” The Director General also instructed her to file a case on his behalf.
Meanwhile, the family of the officer of the foundation has been evicted from government quarters. On Tuesday afternoon, an investigation team from the Animal Activist Committee arrived in Ishwardi from Dhaka.
Ishwardi Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) Md Moniruzzaman said a written order had been issued asking Hasanur Rahman Noyon to vacate the gazetted government quarters by Tuesday due to the puppy-killing incident. “We have learned that they have already vacated the residence and moved elsewhere,” he said.
Accused Nishi Khatun told reporters, “The puppies used to stay near the stairway of our government quarter and caused a lot of disturbance. So, I put them in a market bag and left them at the base of a drumstick tree near the pond. I don’t know how they ended up in the water. I did not throw them into the pond.”