Pregnant goat dies after allegedly raped by 8 men in Haryana, people express shock on social media

After the owner of the goat caught three men performing the act, they were beaten up by villagers in Maroda village, reports said. All the accused are absconding.

The incident occurred in a north Indian state where violent sexual assaults against women are common.

According to an India Today report,  the goat owner named Savakar, Haroon, Jaffar and five others whose identities were not yet ascertained.

Police have registered a case under Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code, which prohibits “carnal intercourse against the order of nature with man, woman or animal” and under the Animal Cruelty Act at Nagina police station in Nuh, earlier known as Mewat, reported Hindustan Times.

“Our team is investigating the case and has recorded the statement of the goat’s owner, who allegedly caught the three accused in the act. We are also in the process of recording the statements of other eyewitnesses and villagers to know the exact sequence of the crime and arrests will be made once we get all the details,” Nazneen Bhasin, superintendent of police, Nuh, was quoted as saying by the newspaper.

Five people involved in the incident have not been identified so far.

The owner, Aslup Khan, said the goat went missing from Wednesday night.

“It was around 11pm when I heard some noise and went out. The gate of the shed was open. I panicked and raised an alarm, as four of my goats had been stolen in the past and this was the only one left. While we were looking around, we found three men sexually assaulting my goat,” he told Hindustan Times.

“My goat was injured and lying on the ground. It was not even able to walk. I took it home and applied medicines on the wounds on its head and nose. It did not eat anything the next day and was lying as if it was paralysed,” Khan said.

The goat, he said, passed away on Thursday.

The post-mortem report of the animal is still awaited.

Meet Ashar, Emergency Response Coordinator at PETA India, called the incident as 'shocking'.

"SHOCKING !!! PREGNANT GOAT ALLEGEDLY GANG RAPED AND KILLED BY 8 MEN IN MEWAT VILLAGE OF NUH DISTRICT IN HARYANA..... FIR filed u/s 377 & 429 IPC #SayNoToAnimalAbuse," Ashar tweeted.

"There has been a steep increase in cases of sexual abuse against animals. People who are violent often start with animals as victims and then move on to humans," he posted.

Social Media shocked:

Delhi Commission for Women Chairperson Swati Maliwal tweeted: "What's happening with our men? Gang rape of women, men, boys, 5 month old girls and now even goats! Where is our society heading!"

Journalist Tufail Ahmed tweeted: "Haryana is already India's gang-rape state and now this >>> Pregnant goat dies after 8 men gang-rape it in #Haryana https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/pregnant-goat-dies-after-8-men-gang-raped-it-in-haryana-1299168-2018-07-28 … via @indiatoday."

Filmmaker Pritish Nandy said: "So this is where we have finally reached! We disrespect women. We disrespect Muslims. We disrespect Dalits. Now we disrespect other species.Pregnant Goat Dies After Being Raped by 8 Men in Haryana's Mewat."

However, incidents of sexual assault of animals are not new in India or other parts of the world. Similar incidents were reported in recent times from Africa as well as the USA.