Mumbai Man Gets 4 Months In Jail After Pet Dog Attacks Neighbour In Lift

Last Updated:May 29, 2025, 13:29 IST

Rishab Patel from Worli, Mumbai was awarded a four-month jail term after his husky bit neighbor Ramik Shah in an apartment lift.

While passing the order, Judicial magistrate Suhas Bhosale said he would not show Patel "too much leniency." (Representational Image)

In a recent case of dog bite, a pet owner from Worli area in Mumbai was awarded four-month jail term after his husky attacked his neighbour inside an apartment lift. The incident took place at Alfa Apartment in Worli. The pet owner has been identified as Rishab Patel while the victim as Ramik Shah.

Patel was convicted on charges of voluntarily causing hurt and negligent conduct with an animal.

While passing the order, Judicial magistrate Suhas Bhosale said he would not show Patel “too much leniency".

Pointing to CCTV footage, the judge observed, “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."

It is learnt that during the incident, Shah was heading down from the fourth floor. According to a report in Hindustan Times, he was accompanied by his one-and-a-half-year-old son and a domestic help. When the lift halted at the third floor, Patel was waiting to get inside the lift with his dog. At first, Shah requested Patel to wait, citing his son’s fear from dog but to no avail.

Ignoring the request, Patel allegedly entered the elevator without even letting Shah exit. Soon after, the convict dragged his pet into the lift only to inflict a dog bite on his left forearm. After the attack, Shah, his son, and the help got off the lift, but Patel allegedly followed them and dared Shah to “do whatever he wanted."

Shah claimed he had to later get a medical treatment and hence, he filed a police complaint.

During the trial, the prosecution presented to the judge, oral evidence from Shah, and his domestic help, Anuj Singh, who confirmed Patel had forcibly entered the lift with the canine despite repeated requests while the defence signalled inconsistencies, including a delay in medical treatment and the initial absence of administration of anti-rabies vaccine for the victim.

However, after finding both Shah and Singh’s testimonies consistent and credible, the magistrate delivered the verdict in their favour. “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 slapped him Rs 4,000 fine besides sentencing him to jail.

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