Forest has rules. Unsaid yet well known. You dare to break the rules of the forest, you pay for it.

The Founder and CEO of Turtle Shell Technologies, a startup based out of Bengaluru -- Mudit Dandwate -- chose to enter a restricted area of Bengaluru's Thattekere Lake in Ramanagara district. The lake is at least 46 km from Bengaluru.

The IIT graduate, 26, was attacked by a crocodile when he tried to help his two dogs out of the lake. Dandwate, originally from Nagpur, was out on a trekking expedition, along with a friend and two pet dogs.

THE CROCODILE ATTACK

Dandwate's dogs, excited to see a water body, jumped into the lake. Mudit, worried about his dogs, jumped into the lake to help them out of the water but failed to notice the signboard that warned of the presence of crocodiles in the lake.

As he was helping his dogs out, a crocodile attacked Mudit and tore off his left arm from below the elbow, the friend told the police. Mudit was operated on at Hosmat Hospital to where he was taken to after he was rushed to a local hospital for first aid, and is recovering.

TREATMENT

The Times of India quoted Thomas Chandy, Chief of Orthopaedics, as saying, "A crocodile bite is powerful and has crushed the arm, just like in the case of any industrial accident. But crocodile bite is toxic as well. So we are currently performing medical procedure called debridement, where is hand is being cleaned several time to make sure there is no infection."

A report on India.com said that the chances of Mudit regaining his arm are bleak and that the doctors said he would be given a prosthetic arm in another three months.

NDTV quoted Dr Ajith Benedict Rayan, Medical Director of Hosmat hospital, as saying, "His condition is stabilised and he is now out of the ICU and in a ward."

CASE FOR ENTERING A RESTRICTED AREA

B Ramesh, Ramanagara SP, told NDTV that a case has been filed against Dandwate for entering a restricted forest area without permission. The TOI report said that the forest department has now taken over the investigation.