6-month jail for killing pet cat in Mohammadpur

A Dhaka court has sentenced Akbar Hossain Shiblu to six months in prison for killing a pet cat belonging to a man named Mansur in the capital’s Mohammadpur area.

The verdict was delivered by the court of Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Albiruni Mir on Wednesday afternoon, reports media.

In addition to the jail term, the court fined the convict Tk10,000. In default of payment, he will have to serve an additional one month of simple imprisonment.

Plaintiff’s lawyer Zakir Hossain said the accused was not present in court during the verdict. As a result, the court issued arrest and conviction warrants against him.

After hearing arguments from both sides on February 3, the court initially set February 17 for the verdict, which was later deferred to Wednesday.

Testimony in the case concluded on December 2, with the court recording statements from four witnesses.

According to the case documents, Nafisa Naureen Chowdhury filed the case on February 5 last year with the Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Court on behalf of People for Animal Welfare.

On the same day, the court recorded the plaintiff’s statement and directed Mohammadpur Police Station to investigate the allegations and submit a report.

Following the investigation, police submitted a report confirming the allegations against Akbar Hossain. Based on the report, the court framed charges against him on July 14 and ordered the trial to begin.

According to the case statement, the incident occurred on February 1 last year when the pet cat went missing from the ninth floor of Muktijoddha Tower in Mohammadpur.
CCTV footage later showed the accused kicking the cat “like a football.” Even after the animal became motionless, he allegedly pressed it with his foot to ensure its death.
A witness informed the plaintiff about the incident. Based on CCTV footage and witness testimony, the court found that the accused had intentionally and brutally killed the cat.