Mira-Bhayandar: 7 Booked For Illegal Bullock-Cart Racing And Animal Cruelty In Uttan

Mira Bhayandar: Despite a stern warning issued by the Mira Bhayandar-Vasai Virar (MBVV) police to those who indulge in illegally organised animal-cart racing competitions, seven unidentified people were booked for mercilessly beating bullocks with painfully sharp rods and pointed sticks to push their carts to maximum speed on the roads of Uttan late on Thursday night.

On-duty personnel noticed the over speeding carts and unsuccessfully tried to relay the information to the next nakabandi (road barricade) spot. However, the riders of the three carts pulled by two-bullocks each were not part of any organised competition and were competing amongst themselves in the frenzy for speed. They managed to dodge the police teams.

An offence under the relevant sections of the Bhartiya Nya Sanhita (BNS) and Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960 was registered at the Uttan coastal police station on Friday against seven people including three riders and four occupants who were seated in three bullock-carts.

The accused who are yet to be identified were apparently returning from the Saint Jerome Church in Kashimira after celebrating the Feast Day. Investigations were on to ascertain the identity of the accused, police said.

Racing horse/bullock carts not only creates chaos on roads while endangering lives of pedestrians and motorists but is also an act of cruelty against the animals who suffer injuries due to whipping and beating by riders who force them to race amidst vehicular traffic.