Mumbai Crime: Oshiwara man set his pet dog upon playing kids, says Police

The 14yearold son of film producer Ketan Suresh Gupta a resident of Brighton Tower at Second Cross Road in Oshiwara was attacked by a neighbourrsquos pet dog on Thursday Society members have alleged this was the third such incident in a year and said the dogrsquos owner Raj Sahabazi was booked due to a similar attack months agoThe teen Siddhant was playing in the society compound with his friends at the time of the incidentKetan Suresh Gupta father of victimGupta 45 has alleged that Sahabazi who resides in a bungalow had unleashed the dog on them after warning them not to play in the compound Siddhant was admitted to Kokilaben hospital while an FIR has been registered against Sahabazi at Oshiwara police stationAlso Read Mumbai Crime lsquoCharge sheet filed extortionists destroyed evidencersquoThe producer told midday ldquoAt 930 pm my son was playing in the society compound with other teenagers when Sahabazi told them not to play in this area or his dog would bite them A few minutes later he released the dog Siddhant was bitten on his both legs I rushed him to the hospital After receiving treatment he was sent homerdquoBite marks on Siddhant Guptarsquos legs right Varuna Kaur canine behaviourist and trainerSahabazi could be seen opening the gate through which the dog emerged in CCTV footageGupta further alleged ldquoItrsquos not the dogrsquos fault The owner adopted a street dog but does not have the ability or the sense to take care of such a loving animal He keeps him tied up all day without any training or socialising which will make any pet aggressive This is the third such incident at Brighton Tower involving this person and his pet Other kids are fearful about playing in the compound because of this On May 21 last year the dog bit someone and an FIR was registered against the same personrdquoLeena Richard lawyerPolice Inspector Rajani Salunkhe of Oshiwara police station said ldquoWe have registered the FIR against the dog owner and started investigating the matter We have not arrested anyone yet We have registered an FIR under Section 289 negligent conduct with respect to an animal of the Indian Penal CoderdquoAccording to advocate Leena Richard Section 289 states that whoever willingly or negligently fails to take proper steps to sufficiently guard against any probable danger to humans from any animal in his possession shall be punished with imprisonment which may extend to a maximum of six months or Rs 1000 fine or bothCCTV footage of Thursdayrsquos incidentShe added ldquoThe police cannot invoke Section 289 against the accused if the dog in question is a community dog that is not ldquoownedrdquo by a person Just because an individual gives food and care to the animal it does not make him liable for a community dogrsquos biteAccording to her in a cooperative housing society pets can be taken to common areas subject to them being leashed and muzzled as per the behaviour and nature of the petVaruna Kaur a certified canine behaviourist and trainer said neither the teen nor the dog was at fault ldquoIt is the moral responsibility of the dog parent or caretaker to make sure that their dog doesnrsquot do any harm to the community especially to kids They should have taken much more serious precautions to make sure that their dog doesnrsquot bite It not only scars kids for life but also is extremely tough on the dog to be aggressive it is not something they enjoy There are much better ways to manage an aggressive dog itrsquos really sad that people donrsquot take this seriouslyrdquo she said930 pmTime when incident occurred