Karachi men shoot sacrificial buffalo, court approves their bail
They were arrested on Wednesday
A court in Karachi's Malir approved Thursday the bail of eight suspects accused of shooting a sacrificial cow on the first day of Eidul Azha.
Imran, Zubair, Attaur Rehman, Noor Ali, Waseem, Moeen, Salman, and Irfan appeared in court and their bail was approved against Rs10,000 surety bonds.
The men were arrested after a viral video showed them shooting a sacrificial buffalo in a housing society in Scheme 33 near the University of Karachi.
The buffalo reportedly went on a rampage after an inexperienced butcher tried to sacrifice it. The animal ran away in the housing society at 9am and residents ran away from it. Following this, the society's members and security guards brought their guns and fired shots at the animal.
A resident told SAMAA TV that 20 rounds were fired. Those firing told others to go inside because and refused to take responsibility for using firearms. The buffalo slowed down after two and a half hours and it was then tied up and slaughtered.
People on social media criticised the men for using firearms against an animal. They even questioned if Islam allows people to shoot a sacrificial animal.
A case was registered against the suspects under sections of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act. The law prohibits people from killing any animal in an "unnecessarily cruel manner". Those who violate the law can be imprisoned for six months.
