FIR registered after chicks kicked onto railway tracks in Guwahati

On October 6, 2026, the Guwahati Railway Police registered a First Information Report (FIR) against an unidentified individual for kicking chicks onto railway tracks at the Guwahati Railway Station, leading to the birds' deaths. In a video captured on October 1, 2026, it was evident that the chicks had undergone a distressing and perilous journey, seemingly lacking appropriate enclosures to ensure their safety during transportation.

The footage depicted a man kicking several chicks onto the tracks, resulting in a scene of scattered chicks, some alive, others barely conscious, and many with severe injuries or broken bones. Animal welfare organization People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA)-India collaborated with local activist Aditi Bakshi to initiate police action.

The Guwahati Railway Police subsequently filed the FIR under provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, and the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960. PETA-India's senior cruelty response officer Sinchana Subramanyan emphasized that chicks experience pain, stress, and fear, and kicking, injuring, and disposing of these delicate birds onto railway tracks constitutes heinous cruelty.

The organization highlighted that the incident at Guwahati Railway Station exemplifies the "routine and unacceptable" suffering endured by chicks in the egg and meat industries, where unwanted newborn birds, including male chicks unable to lay eggs, are killed or discarded shortly after hatching. PETA-India stated that such chicks often suffer from various forms of cruelty, including being crushed, suffocated, drowned, or ground into pulp alongside dead birds and eggshells, with some chicks colored and sold as toys to children, only to frequently perish from toxins or mishandling shortly thereafter.