A Dhaka court has sentenced Akbar Hossain Shiblu, a resident of Muktijoddha Tower in Mohammadpur, to six months’ imprisonment for killing a pet cat belonging to a neighbour.

The verdict was delivered today (11 March) by the court of Metropolitan Magistrate Albiruni Mir in Dhaka.

In addition to the jail term, the court fined the accused Tk10,000, with a further one month’s imprisonment in default of payment. Zakir Hossain, lawyer for the plaintiff, confirmed the matter.He said the accused was absent during the announcement of the verdict, prompting the court to issue an arrest warrant along with the sentence. Earlier, on 3 February, the court had set 17 February for delivering the verdict after hearing arguments from both the prosecution and the defence.The date was later deferred and the verdict was announced today.

According to the case details, the court completed recording testimonies in the case on 2 December, taking statements from four witnesses. The case was filed on 5 February last year at the Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Court by Nafisa Nowrin Chowdhury on behalf of People for Animal Welfare. On the same day, the court recorded the plaintiff’s statement and directed Mohammadpur Police Station to investigate the allegations and submit a report. Subsequently, police submitted an investigation report confirming that the allegations against the accused, Akbar Hossain Shiblu, were true.

On 14 July, the court formally framed charges against him and ordered the trial to begin. According to the complaint, the incident took place on 1 February last year when a pet cat belonging to a resident named Monsur from the ninth floor of Muktijoddha Tower in Mohammadpur went missing.

Later, CCTV footage from the building showed the accused repeatedly kicking the cat like a football. Even after the animal lay motionless from the blows, he continued striking it with his foot, ensuring its death. Witnesses who saw the incident initially did not know how to respond and later informed the plaintiff about what had happened. Based on witness accounts and CCTV footage, the court found that the accused had intentionally and cruelly killed the cat.