Sub-inspector Vaibhav Sonawane of Kondhwa police station said, “The boy’s parents were arrested and granted bail as per the provisions of the CrPC. Further probe is on. Medical test of the boy was done and he is doing well.” The parents of the 11-year-old boy, who was confined in an apartment in Pune’s Kondhwa area with 22 stray dogs, were arrested Thursday and later granted bail according to the provisions of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), said the police.
Meanwhile, on Wednesday, the boy was shifted to an ‘observation home’ in Pune as per the directions of the Child Welfare Committee (CWC). The members of the CWC also interacted with his parents against whom a first information report (FIR) had been lodged at the Kondhwa police station under various Sections of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act.
Sub-inspector Vaibhav Sonawane of Kondhwa police station said, “The boy’s parents were arrested and granted bail as per the provisions of the CrPC. Further probe is on. Medical test of the boy was done and he is doing well.”
A local resident, who saw the boy in a bad condition, had called up the helpline number of the Dnyan Devi Childline, an NGO providing emergency services for children. The activists in turn informed the CWC and also sought help from Kondhwa police to rescue the boy. The police had later lodged an offence against his parents.
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According to Anuradha Sahasrabuddhe of the Dnyan Devi Childline, the parents claimed to be dog lovers. So, they had kept several stray dogs at their apartment in Kondhwa. However, the family reportedly lived in a very bad condition.
“The boy was kept with the dogs for almost two years. So, it has impacted his behavioural development. We also got to know that his schooling was stopped as he had started acting like dogs. We have, therefore, urged the police to give him proper treatment as well as counselling and follow the directions of the CWC,” said Anuradha.
When contacted, CWC member Beena Hirekar told The Indian Express, “The boy was produced before the CWC on Wednesday. He is now stable. He has been shifted to an observation home in Pune. We got to know he was in school till the fifth standard but later his schooling was stopped. We spoke to the parents of the boy. They said due to Covid and later due to unavailability of money to pay the fees, they were unable to send the boy to school.”
Hirekar added, “Our inquiry is on. The parents may have love for dogs but there are rules to be followed and what they have done with their son by keeping him with the stray dogs in a bad condition is an offence and hence the FIR was lodged. CWC will submit its inquiry report and based on it, the police will take further action in this case.”
Hirekar also said that arrangements are being made to provide proper treatment and counselling to the boy.
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