A woman was arrested on Tuesday (December 2) night over the drowning of eight puppies in a local pond putting them in a sack at Ishwardi upazila in Pabna district.
Nishi Begum was arrested from a rented house adjacent to Rahimpur Girls School in Ishwardi Municipal Sadar. She is the wife of Hasanur Rahman Noyan, an officer of the Small Farmers Foundation.
Earlier at about 11:30 at night, Ishwardi Upazila Livestock Officer Aklima Khatun filed a case at Ishwardi Police Station in Pabna district over the drowning of eight puppies in a pond at Ishwardi Upazila Parishad premises tying them up in a sack without the knowledge of their mother.
Abdun Noor, officer-in-charge of Ishwardi Police Station, confirmed about the arrest.
Additional Police Super of Ishwardi Circle Pranab Kumar said: "We've arrest accused Nishi Begum. The accused will be sent to jail through court on Wednesday."
Aklima Khatun said the case was filed at 11:30pm on behalf of the Director General of the Department of Livestock under Section 7 of the Animal Welfare Act, 2019.
The Director General also instructed that the case be filed on his behalf.
The 38-year-old Nishi Begum was named as the accused.
Aklima added that the incident was widely shared on social media.
Farida Akter, adviser to the Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock, described the act as inhumane and said it harmed the country's image.
The family of the Small Farmers Foundation officer has already been evicted from the government quarters.
On Tuesday afternoon, an investigation team from the Animal Activist Committee arrived in Ishwardi from Dhaka to look into the case.
Photos of the dead puppies were first posted on social media on Monday morning and quickly went viral.
The incident sparked public outrage, with people demanding legal action against those responsible.
Upazila Executive Officer Md. Moniruzzaman said written instructions were given for Hasanur Rahman Noyon to vacate the gazetted quarters.
"The family has already left the residence," he added.
Hasanur Rahman Noyon could not be reached over phone.
On Sunday evening, eight puppies drowned due to the deliberate actions of Nishi Begum.
When the puppies went missing, the mother dog went here and there in the residential area, Officers' Club, and various houses throughout the night, crying loudly.
She declined to eat anything, and nobody knew the fate of the puppies at that time.
The puppies were usually found under the stairs of the Upazila Nirbahi Officer's residence.
Jahangir Alam, caretaker of the residence, said, "On Monday morning, Noyon Sir was leaving on his motorcycle. When I asked about the puppies, he said he did not know. Then his son said, his mother put the puppies in a sack and threw them into the pond. We then went to the pond and saw a floating sack. When we opened it, we found all eight puppies dead."
After seeing the dead puppies, the mother dog became extremely distressed and fell ill. Later, staff from the Upazila Livestock Department treated her and administered a sedative injection.
END/AKI
