Pune: 11-year-old boy acts like dog after living with canines for two years

In a shocking incident, an 11-year-old boy was found to have been kept inside an apartment with more than 22 dogs for a span of more than 2 years.

Pune: In a shocking incident, an 11-year-old boy was found to have been kept inside an apartment with more than 22 dogs for a span of more than 2 years. The incident, which occurred in Pune's Kondhwa area, has led to the police registering a case under sections 23 and 28 of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2000 on May 9 against the child's parents.

The parents of the boy have been identified as Sanjay Lodharia and Shital Lodharia. It has been learned that they used to leave him inside while they stepped out. Aparna Modak, the coordinator of Pune-based NGO (Non-Governmental Organisation) ChildLine, reached the area after receiving a complaint pertaining to the boy sitting at the window and acting like a dog. Modak subsequently lodged a complaint with the Kondhwa Police Station, who found the boy inside the apartment, surrounded by the dogs.

"The boy was being counseled. He had been living with dogs for over two years. So the boy is acting like a dog," police said. "Getting the child out of that house was a really difficult task. Because all those dogs were stray. They were not sterilized. Besides, they could turn violent at any time. Keeping children in close proximity to animals and thus adversely affecting children's mental health is a crime and his parents will be punished as the law," senior Police Inspector Sagar Patil stated. The parents are currently under police investigation.