Mumbai man given 4 months rigorous imprisonment after pet dog bites neighbour in lift

MUMBAI: A 40-year-old man from Worli has been sentenced to four months of rigorous imprisonment after his pet husky bit his neighbour inside an apartment lift. The man, Rishab Patel, was convicted on charges of voluntarily causing hurt and negligent conduct with an animal.

Judicial magistrate Suhas Bhosale, while delivering the verdict, said he would not show Patel "too much leniency". Referring to CCTV footage, the judge noted, "The way in which the accused dragged his pet inside lift shows he is not compassionate towards his own pet. He did not care about the informant, his son and dragged his own pet inside the lift... the act... resulted in injury."

The victim, Ramik Shah, a resident of Alfa Apartment in Worli, was heading down from the fourth floor with his one-and-a-half-year-old son and domestic help. When the lift stopped at the third floor, Patel was standing with his dog. Shah said he requested Patel to wait, explaining that his son was cynophobic (afraid of dogs). However, Patel allegedly ignored the request and did not even allow them to exit. Instead, he dragged his dog into the lift, which bit Shah on his left forearm. After the incident, Shah, his son, and the help exited the lift, but Patel allegedly followed them and challenged Shah to "do whatever he wanted." Shah later sought medical treatment and filed a police complaint.

During the trial, the prosecution presented oral evidence from the victim, Ramik Shah, and his domestic help, Anuj Singh, who confirmed Patel had forcibly entered the lift with the dog despite repeated requests.

The defence pointed to inconsistencies, including a delay in medical treatment and the initial absence of administration of anti-rabies vaccine for the victim. However, the magistrate found the testimonies of both Shah and Singh consistent and credible. "Only because the witness is servant of the first informant we cannot brush aside his evidence if it is otherwise trustworthy," he ruled. Holding Patel's actions as "voluntary," the court fined him Rs 4,000 in addition to sentencing him to jail.