Animal care penalty for teens

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THE TIMES OF INDIA KOLKATA, Thursday, February 1, 2007

 

 

 

Animal care penalty for teens

 

Saibal Sen | TNN

 

Kolkata: Two teenaged delinquents have been spared prison terms by the Juvenile

Justice Board and, instead, asked to take care of animals according to a routine

set by the board.

One of the boys was charged with possessing a firearm, while the other was

“punished” for trying to sell a caged bird.

The aim is to integrate them into society and avoid the catastrophic effect a

life behind bars could have on Ayan Pal (15) and Amit Mandal(16) (names

changed).

While Pal, a class VII student, was arrested for carrying a fully-loaded

automatic firearm to his school in North 24-Parganas, Mandal was held for trying

to sell a caged bird, a crime under the Wildlife Protection Act. Neither had to

spend a day in the juvenile home. Instead, they have been asked to tend to

animals and look after them for a year.

Pal’s crime (illegal possession of firearms under section 23/25 of the Arms

Act) is punishable by a three-year prison

term while Mandal could have been made to serve four months in custody for

violation of Wildlife Protection Act.

Instead, the Juvenile Justice Board ordered Pal to report to the Calcutta

Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (CSPCA) in Bowbazar for two days a

week for a a year and tend to animals. Mandal was asked to report for the same

purpose to the Salt Lake Deer Park for a day each week for a year.

The orders — with precedence elsewhere in the country — also stated that a

probation officer will report to

the Board every three months whether the teenagers are complying with the

orders.

The Board passed the order after speaking to the children. In Pal’s case, the

law is quite stringent. He pleaded guilty to the charge through his lawyers. Pal

told the Board he loved animals and that he didn’t want to leave studies.

Mandal, however, completely broke down. He said the bird he was caught selling

was his own. He worked in a Rajabazar factory and had to remain out of home for

long hours. The bird wouldn’t eat without him and fell sick. He had no option

but to sell it so that someone would at least take care of it. He didn’t realise

it was a crime. Though their first “compliance report” is not due before March,

Pal and Mandal are serving their sentences with zeal. A CSPCA office-bearer

said, “This is an extraordinary judgement. Pal reports here twice-a-week and

stays for over an hour. He is quite sedate and very eager. Perhaps, such

punishment can he replicated for adults who are cruel to animals.”

The forest department has already inquired whether it could get some “eager

hands” like Mandal to work for them.