LAHORE: A woman in Lahore has approached the Lahore High Court to register a murder case against a vet for the alleged murder of her pet cat.

Petitioner Dr Attiya Masood Chaudhry has requested that the court register a case under Section 429 of the Pakistan Penal Code for the alleged murder of her pet by one vet Dr Owais Anees.

Section 429 criminalises "mischief by killing or maiming cattle, etc of any value or any animal of the value of fifty rupees".

Dr Masood, an assistant professor at Punjab University, says her 18-month-old pet cat fell ill on January 18, after which she requested the vet to pay a house call to conduct a check-up for the feline.

Masood alleges she paid Anees Rs6,000 per visit, but the vet charged Rs25,000 for this particular visit. She said she paid him Rs10,000, but Dr Anees insisted on her paying the additional Rs15,000 during the check-up.

She alleges that after her refusal to pay the amount, he gave her cat five injections of Zintac and put the cat on a drip, after which the cat died.

The LHC has accepted the petition and will decide on the registration of a case tomorrow (Wednesday).