Goat sacrifice lands Dhoni in fresh trouble

Lucknow, Mar 19 (UNI) After the swimming pool controversy, another trouble seems to be mounting on Team India one-dayer (ODI) skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni, following allegations of goat sacrifice at a temple in Ranchi during his recent return from Australia.

In a letter to Dhoni, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals India (PETA) has condemned the captain's reported participation in a goat's sacrifice during a thanksgiving ceremony at the famous Chhinmastika Temple in Jharkhand after the rip-roaring victory against Kangaroos in Australia.

The group, sending the letter today, expresses concern that the cricketer's young fans might be inspired to perperate similar acts of cruelty and encourages the captain to use his influence to spread a message of compassion to youth.

''Animal sacrifice cannot be treated as part of Indian culture.

Even in sacrifices that claim to be ancient, practiceses like sati, child marriage and caste differentiation are also part of an ancient culture and had already been banned by law as they are not conducive for social society,'' says PETA Chief Functionay Anuradha Shawney.

''Now, Mr Dhoni will really need divine intervention to repair his tarnished image,'' she underlined.

Meanwhile, the Animal Welfare Board of India (AWBI) has also reacted to the reported sacrifice by Dhoni.

Board Chairperson major-general (retd) R M Kharb has shot off a letter to the ODI captain advising him ''to exercise more caution in all that he did publicly.'' Earlier, the cricketer was envolved in a controversy, following a petition filed in the Jharkhand High Court against construction of a swimming pool at his under-constructed house in Ranchi.

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