ACP rank cops will be nodal officers to address plaints against animal cruelty

In a first-of-its-kind and humane initiative, the Karnataka State Police department has appointed eight ACP rank officials as nodal officers to address complaints registered about cruelty to animals in Bengaluru. The appointment comes in the wake of back-to-back incidents reported in the city in the last few months.

Noting that the prevention of cruelty to animals requires support and cooperation from the police department, the Deputy Commissioner of Police (Command Centre) passed an order recently appointing officials at the sub-division level.

Speaking to DH, K Ramarajan, DCP (Command Centre) said these officials will play a key role in preventing such acts. “At present, we operate at two stages. Once we receive a complaint on our 112 helplines, the Emergency Response Support System will visit the spot in 15 minutes. At the second level, the local police inspector will be responsible to file an FIR. Now, we have introduced a third level where the nodal officers will handle any escalations and take administrative decisions,” he said.

Animal activists said that the move could be a game-changer. “Only the police have the enforcement rights to bookcases and take action. Earlier, it was difficult to raise these concerns since there was no dedicated officer. Now, the process will be streamlined,” said Arun Prasad, animal activist.

Priya Chetty Rajagopal, Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (B'luru), board member, said only 33 cases were registered last year. “In 2021, only 33 cases were registered under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act. This is way less than what is happening on the ground,” she said.

“The appointment of nodal officers will help escalate any issues since we have dedicated people to communicate with. We had to run around for months to get a post-mortem of a dead animal. We are hoping that such problems will be addressed”.