Man held for animal cruelty in viral video

Jaipur: A 19-year-old man was arrested Tuesday by Pratapgarh police for animal cruelty after he posted a disturbing video of beating a dog on Instagram. The accused, Dinesh Meena, a resident of Bhanavta village, allegedly filmed the act of violence in an attempt to increase his social media following.

Operating under the username "Dinu Timli", Meena regularly posted content on Instagram seeking online popularity, police officials said.

The incident came to light Sunday when animal rights activist and environmentalist Maneka Gandhi brought the viral video to the attention of district Superintendent of Police Vineet Kumar Bansal. After reviewing the footage, which clearly showed the teenager assaulting the dog, SP Bansal directed the cyber cell to track him down.

"The accused created this video solely to gain more views on his Instagram account," a police officer involved in the investigation said. TNN