After an official police complaint was filed by members of the “Save The Trees” NGO about the stray goats devouring their saplings, the four-legged herbivorous culprits were taken into custody.
According to local media reports, the NGO has blamed the goats for eating up nearly 250 of the 980 wild almond saplings planted in Huzurabad as part of an endeavour for environmental conservation.
As punishment, the goats were taken away and tied to a pole before their owner deposited Rs. 1,000 (about $14) as penalty to the municipal authorities.
Police told reporters the goats weren’t arrested. It was just a precautionary measure to keep the animals from hindering the NGO’s reforestation efforts.
The incident amused many on social media, offering them enough fodder to share their take on this seemingly funny "detention".
Bet you have never met such criminals before!
— Vaishnavi Mishra (@tweet_vaishnavi) September 12, 2019
In what many may call a bizarre incident, the police in Huzurabad town “arrested” two goats. Animals were grazing saplings planted by activists of NGO. They were released from police custody only after the owner paid penalty of 1,000 pic.twitter.com/4x1Hp7JCUs
#HappensOnlyInIndia#goats arrested in India for #grazing lol
— TheAsliDesi (@theaslidesi) September 12, 2019
🤣🤣 https://t.co/fEjOa565qV
They should not have been acting the goat 😁
— Krishna (@Krishna13912540) September 12, 2019
Salute To @TelanganaDGP n Telangana Police..!! Lol ... goats ‘arrested’ in Telangana for eating saplings planted by govt | The News Minute https://t.co/4AfMiqFrfJ
— VijayGopal (@VijayGopal_) September 12, 2019
Dunno Y our state police in making mockery of itself... We r rated top in India.. please maintain standards
— power star (@Mogambo10153719) September 12, 2019
The goats, according to the NGO, had been repeatedly destroying the wild almond saplings planted in the Huzurabad municipality. The organisation has planted around 980 wild almond saplings at several public offices and hospitals.