Woman arrested over drowning of 8 puppies

Police have arrested Nishi Khatun on charges of drowning eight puppies in a pond in Ishwardi of Pabna.

She was arrested on Wednesday (December 3) morning.

Earlier on Tuesday night, Upazila Livestock Officer Aklima Khatun filed a case against her under Section 7 of the Animal Welfare Act, 2019.

Nishi Begum, wife of Small Farmers Development Foundation officer Hasanur Rahman Nayan, has been the sole accused in the case. The case was filed on the orders of the Director General of the Department of Livestock.

After the tragic incident spread on social media, there was widespread outrage across the country. Farida Akhter, Adviser to the Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock, called the incident 'inhumane' and ordered strict action against those responsible.

On Tuesday afternoon, an investigation team of animal rights activists arrived in Ishwardi from Dhaka and started an investigation.

It was alleged that on Sunday evening, officer Nayan's wife Nishi Khatun deliberately stuffed the puppies into a sack and threw them into the pond. The next morning, Jahangir Alam, the caretaker of the Upazila Executive Officer's residence, saw a sack floating in the pond and opened it with locals - there were eight dead puppies inside.

According to locals, after the puppies went missing, their mother wandered around the residential area crying all night and did not take any food. Later, the mother was rescued in an ill condition and treated by the Livestock Department.

After this brutal incident, the accused family members were ordered to leave the government quarters. Upazila Executive Officer Md. Moniruzzaman said: "We had informed them in writing beforehand. They left the quarters on Tuesday."