A local landlord in the Nando Khan village of Sanghar district has allegedly had a camel's leg chopped off for entering his agricultural field and damaging and eating some crops.
Later, the police lodged an FIR against two unidentified miscreants for carrying out the deed.
Somar Khan Bahen, the owner of the camel, told a journalists in Sanghar that his camel had gone missing on Thursday night, and he had been searching for it.
"On Thursday, local villagers informed me about my camel," he said, adding that he rushed to the spot and found his camel in a horrific condition where a part of his front leg was missing and blood was dripping from his cut leg.
Holding the severed leg of the animal, Bahen staged a protest outside the Sanghar press club, demanding justice. A video of the helpless animal standing in agony went viral on Facebook and other social media platforms, sparking outrage among netizens.
The camel owner demanded that the Chief Justice of Pakistan take suo motu action against the local landlord.
With social pressure mounting, local police arrested two suspects who allegedly confessed to dismembering the camel's leg with a sharp object at the behest of the local landlord.
Despite the alleged confession of the two men, the area SHO Amir Ali Shahani, and the camel owner were reluctant to name the landlord's name.
Later on Saturday, an FIR was lodged against two unidentified individuals on behalf of the state under Sections 429 and 34 (acts done by several people) of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC).
Section 429: Mischief by killing or maiming cattle, etc., of any value or any animal of the value of fifty rupees:
Whoever commits mischief by killing, poisoning, maiming or rendering useless, any elephant, camel, horse, mule, buffalo, bull, cow or ox, whatever may be the value thereof, or any other animal of the value of fifty rupees or upwards, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to five years, or with both.
The police claimed that the FIR was registered on behalf of the state after the camel's owner, Bahen, was allegedly reluctant to become a complainant in the FIR and refused to mention the name of the influential landlord.
The land where the camel had allegedly trespassed and had to pay with its leg, allegedly belonged to Abdul Rasheed Shar.
Meanwhile Advocate Asifa Abdul Rasool Khowaja, a lawyer, said that Pakistan has laws relating to animal cruelty. She said that while there exists the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act 1890, it was not quite stringent enough to prevent such incidents in the future.
"The law only offers simple imprisonment for a term of one month if a person harms an animal once, and if they repeat the offense within three years, they shall undergo imprisonment for three months," she disclosed, emphasising the need for strengthening laws which can act as a deterrent against incidents.
Separately, the Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah took notice of the incident and has directed the police to take strict action against the suspects.