Days ahead of Bakri Eid, police commissioners of Ahmedabad and Surat in Gujarat have issued orders prohibiting animal sacrifice in public places and at private places where it would be visible to the public.
The notifications, having similar content, were issued on Sunday by Ahmedabad Police Commissioner Ashish Bhatia and his Surat counterpart R B Brahmbhatt.
The notifications, issued to maintain law and order under section 144 of the CrPC, "prohibit animal sacrifice on Eid-al-Adha, to be celebrated on August 1, at public places and at private places where it would be visible to the public."
Such public sacrifice would "hurt sentiments of people of other faiths and it would disrupt communal harmony," the notifications said.
The ban is necessary in the wake of the coronavirus situation, the orders said.
The notifications also put a ban on decorating animals and taking out their procession ahead of the ritual of sacrifice.
People have also been barred from throwing animal remains in public after the ritual.
During the festival, people must wear a mask and maintain social distancing to stop the spread of coronavirus, the two notifications said, adding that those found violating the orders will be booked under Indian Penal Code (IPC) Section 188 (disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant).