Police arrested 42 year old woman named Bimala Devi Rokaya on thursday after a video of her throwing a live dog off the Pankot Bridge into Seti River went viral. Rokaya, residing in Jaya Prithivi Municipality-3 was taken into custody from her own home aftera multi day search was launched after the footage surfaced online around September 16.
Preliminary investigation suggests Rokaya threw the dog into the river after it had reportedly been biting people passing near her home as her stated reason, according to police. She remains in custody at the District Police Office as investigation into her exact motive continues.
Legal Picture regarding to animal cruelty
Under Nepal's National Penal (Code) Act, 2017 (Muluki Criminal Code), animal cruelty is addressed in Section 290, which makes it illegal to beat, kick, overwork, or otherwise harm an animal, or to cause it disease, injury or disability and is punishable by up to three months imprisonment or a fine of up to Rs 5000, or both. Separately, Section 291 prohibits killing animals in public spaces (with exceptions for religious/cultural sacrifice), carrying a maximum penalty of one month imprisonment or a Rs 500 fine, or both. A broader Animal Welfare Bill has been in drafting since at least 2025, but has not yet been passed into law. As reported by The Kathmandu Post in a January 2026 investigation, actual enforcement remains rare and sentences even rarer except for one Khotang case that reached court resulted in just one week's imprisonment and a Rs 5,000 fine, reduced after the accused apologized.
This case highlights a recurring gap in Nepal which is a swift public outrage and quick arrests which more often than not never translate into meaningful legal consequences, largely because the law itself sets such a low ceiling for punishment.
