Mumbai: Man assaulted by a resident for using the elevator with dog in Chandivali

Even though the Animal Welfare Board of India (AWBI) guidelines and numerous court rulings make it apparent that residents associations cannot forbid pets from accessing the common elevators, some neighbours object and coerce pet parents and walkers into leaving the elevators.

A similar incident occurred of animal-human conflict at one of the Nahar Amrit Shakti R12 apartment buildings in Mumbai, where a dog walker was assaulted by a resident, for refusing to leave the elevator which he was occupying, along with the dogs he was walking.

The incident was reported at around 8:30 pm on November 28, 2022, as the dog's walker, Sunil Rathod, and the dog he was walking, descended in one of the elevators to the lobby of the Arum Society building. When the elevator halted in another floor on the way down, a Society resident asked him to exit the elevator with the dog so they could use the elevator alone. The man declined to do so because he was already in the elevator and made his way down to the lobby instead.

Along with a security guard of the building, the resident Govind Brajbhushan Mohan, a resident of 1304, Arum, Nahar Amrit Shakti Complex followed him to the parking lot and began swearing at him. After slapping him twice, he then picked up a stick from the area and began beating him all over. Not content with that, he also kicked Sunil's innocent pet twice and broke his cell phone's casing by grabbing and throwing it on the floor. 

Following this incident, Sunil went to the Saki Naka Police Station and requested to file a complaint. As an outcome, the police authorities recorded a Non Cognizable Report (NCR) under sections IPC 323 (voluntarily causing hurt) and IPC 504 (intentionally insulting) in response to his request against Mr. Govind Brajbhushan Mohan. 

It is regrettable that some people try to enforce the law by abusing pet owners and dog walkers and contesting the rules set out by different housing societies in accordance with the Animal Welfare Board of India regarding how to coexist with animals and people.