In a weird piece of news, the Kota police in Rajasthan has on Sunday arrested a 60-year-old sexagenarian under the grounds of raping a female stray dog. The arrest has come days after the FIR was filed against him based on the complaint moved by a fellow citizen to the police with the help of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) India. 

According to reports, the FIR was lodged against 60-year-old Ram Swaroop on September 1 under sections 377- whoever voluntarily has carnal intercourse against the order of nature, with any man, woman, or animal of the Indian Penal Code and Section 11 of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (PCA) Act, 1960. If convicted, a person can be imprisoned for life or with imprisonment of either description for a term which may be up to ten years along with a penalty under section 377.

Ganga Sahay Sharma, station house officer at Kunadi in Kota, said, "We have arrested Ram Swaroop on Sunday. We were looking for him since the FIR was lodged." As PETA had played a role in a complaint against Swaroop, the organization has issued a press release concerning the development in which it has urged the Union government to include bestiality as a cognisable offence in an amendment to the PCA Act and to propose harder penalties for cruelty to animals. 

In the press release, PETA has said, "While the IPC carries stronger punishments, currently, the maximum penalty for abusing an animal under the PCA Act is Rs 50 fine. Several recent cases of sexual abuse of animals signify the need for harsher penalties under the PCA Act to ensure that it acts as a deterrent for potential offenders." 

Kabir Bhanu Das, who is with the PETA India Emergency Response team, said, "Violent people often start by abusing animals and then move on to targeting human victims. Therefore, this case should worry everyone."