Goat arrested for trespassing, later gets out on bail

Scapegoat, much?

Is this a face of a hardened criminal? Source: AAP

Indian police have given new meaning to the term 'scapegoat', after a goat in the central Indian state of Chhattisgarh has been granted bail today.

This comes after the goat was arrested for trespassing and raiding District Magistrate Hemant Ratre's garden.

The goat, named Balbi, along with its owner, Abdul Hassan, were charged with trespassing on Monday, after the magistrate's gardener complained to local authorities.

The goat was first arrested and taken to the police station, before Hassan was also brought into custody.

The police have reported the goat was a "repeat offender", as the goat jumped over the property's iron gate a number of times to eat flowers and vegetables in the garden.

"The peon who maintains the garden had warned the owner of the goat many times. So today he filed a complaint and we arrested the goat and its owner,"  said Assistant Sub Inspector R P Srivastava to NDTV.

Hassan, who, along with his goat, faces criminal trespass and mischief charges, awaits the court's final decision.

The goat community is suitably outraged, and have released the following statement.