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Despite strong protests from animal rights activists, Nepal King Bir Bikram Shah Gyanendra and his wife Queen Komal Rajya Laxmi offered panchabali [sacrifice of five animals] at the Kamakhya temple atop the Nilachal Hills in Guwahati, Assam, on Thursday afternoon.
The sacrificial animals were a buffalo, goat, sheep, pigeon and a duck.
Witnesses said the king and queen, the first members of Nepal's royalty to visit Kamakhya, arrived at the temple straight from the airport.
The royal priest, Raghunath Aryal, specially flown in from Kathmadu, was assisted by a phalanx of local pujaris in performing the rituals.
The authorities had closed down the temple for the public for the duration of the royals' visit.
Later, the king and the queen travelled to the Raj Bhawan where Assam Governor Lieutenant General (retd) S K Sinha hosted a lunch in their honour.
Gyanendra's desire to sacrifice animals had caused animal rights activists to cringe in disgust. They had asked Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi and the police to prevent this "heinous crime".
In a pre-emptive move, the Guwahati chapter of the People for Animals on Thursday filed a first information report at the Jalukbari police station in order to force the temple authorities to call off the animal sacrifice.
Sangeeta Goswami of the People for Animals said that a delegation from her organisation had submitted a memorandum to the chief minister, urging him to "prevent mindless killing of defenceless animals".
Goswami, also a member of the Animal Welfare Board of India, said that the priest and the owners of the sacrificed animals could be jailed for five years under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960.
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