Hyderabad: 62-year-old booked for hitting dog, activists allege sexual assault
Hyderabad: A 62-year-old man was booked under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act after activists alleged that the man had sexually assaulted a dog in West Marredpally on Tuesday night.
“The culprit was seen sexually assaulting dogs a year ago and he is repeating the act without facing any action. At the police station, the culprit said that he sexually assaulted the dog but was just counselled and released the same day. After being released, he sexually assaulted another dog in the same area the same day,” said Y. Pradeep, an animal activist who filed a complaint.
However, the police rebuffed the claims of activists.
Marredpally station house officer C.H. Nethaji said that the accused did not confess to having sexually assaulted the dog, but admitted to hitting the dog with stones. “These animal activists just want to make a case out of nothing. We have booked a case under Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act and we need more evidence on sexual assault,” he said.
This also brought to the limelight a topic, which, according to activists, is not given enough importance.
Dr Virinchi Sharma, a consultant psychiatrist, said that zoophilia is a paraphilic disorder (abnormal sexual behaviour) wherein humans are attracted to animals. “Not having an emotional and sexual maturity, inadequacy in obtaining sexual pleasures, inability to delay gratification of impulses, lack of empathy, having voyeuristic tendencies are some of the important factors,” Sharma said.
Individuals who experienced childhood sexual abuse and suffered from a hostile childhood environment are more prone to zoophilia, said experts.
“Such people generally select an animal that doesn’t fight back; their helplessness attracts them,” said Rachel Nandi, a psychologist. With regard to the alleged incident at Marredpally, Dr Nandi said, “We can never say whether it was the man's first time assaulting the dog or an animal. He may have been doing it for years.”
Detailed psychological evaluation and therapy help in understanding the details of it if there is any active psychological illness. Medical treatments can be planned similarly, advised the doctors.
Activists, meanwhile, alleged that such incidents are common in the Nallakunta-Narayanguda zone and Mahbubnagar. They alleged police laxity.
What the law says
Sexual crimes against animals are covered under Section 377 of the IPC which talks about unnatural offences against the order of nature. Its ambit includes man, woman and animal. Hence, it has vast coverage under the eyes of the law. Punishment is either life imprisonment or imprisonment extending to 10 years and also a fine.
For the protection of animals against cruelty there is a separate act called the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960, but it doesn’t have sufficient protections and is liberal towards humans, said Mihir S., an advocate.
