A young man in Telangana's Nizamabad district was booked after he was alleged to have raped a one-and-a-half year old calf in Nizampur village.
The accused has been identified as Laxman and was caught by locals in his village on Friday. Investigation officials suspect that he had been committing the act of bestiality for close to a year now.
Speaking to TNM, Sub-Inspector B Venkateshwarlu from the Navipet police station said that the incident took place on Friday night when some locals spotted the accused suspiciously roaming near a farmer's house, where the cow was tied.
"When they questioned him, he claimed that he was there to collect cow dung along with some other reasons. However, the locals were unconvinced and doubted that he was engaging in sexual intercourse with the animal. They informed the police and we detained him to avoid a fight breaking out in the village," he said.
The cow in question was taken to a veterinary hospital and medical tests were conducted to ascertain sexual assault by the local veterinary officer.
"The cow was sent for a medical test as per due process. The results will be out in two or three months. Meanwhile, as soon as the courts reopen on Monday, we will send the accused to judicial remand," the SI said,
A case has been registered under Section 377 of the IPC. The police said that they would also consider adding sections of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960, after legal advice.
Similar incidents against dogs have been reported from Hyderabad in the past.
In October 2016, in a gruesome act of bestiality, a 22-year-old man in Hyderabad had strangled a pregnant dog to death and sexually assaulted the corpse. At the time, the accused was caught red-handed, thrashed and handed over to the police.