Pune: Woman booked for killing neighbour's four-month-old kitten

The postmortem report and the initial investigation into the matter further revealed that the cat died because of a human-inflicted severe head injury. The officials also confirmed that the accused woman had hit the kitten on its head with a stick, causing the said injury that led to its death.

Pune: A woman who killed her neighbor's four-month-old cat last month was arrested by the Chaturhrungi police here on Saturday. A case has been registered against the accused after a thorough investigation into the matter. Just a few days ago, the owners of the cat -- residents of Gokhale Nagar in Pune -- faced the sudden death of their cat on the occasion of Gudi Padva (Marathi New Year) on April 2. With no clue about the reason for the sudden mishap initially, the cat's owner decided to perform a post-mortem to decipher the reasons for her sudden death.

The postmortem report revealed that the cat's head was hit by a heavy object, resulting in her death. On speculating over the matter further, the owner realized that their kitten has slipped out of the house on the day of Gudi Padva, amid the hustle-bustle of festivities. The kitten then reportedly entered the house of their neighbors and came back home with internal injuries and abnormal behavior. Just a few hours after that, the kitten succumbed to its injuries.

Based on this speculation, the owner Prashant Dattatraya Gathe (53) lodged a complaint against his neighbor Shilpa Shirke at the Chaturshringi Police station in the area. The police registered a case under the Animal Cruelty Act. The postmortem report and the initial investigation into the matter further revealed that the cat died because of a human-inflicted severe head injury. The officials also confirmed that the accused woman had hit the kitten on its head with a stick, causing the said injury that led to its death. Further investigation is underway.