A 75-year-old man was arrested on Friday for sexually assaulting a stray dog in Jogeshwari (East). A woman who stays in the same area, witnessed the senior citizen repeatedly inserting his finger into the dog's anus. He was let off on Saturday after just paying a fine of Rs 2,500.

According to the Meghwadi police, the case is one of animal cruelty, but does not fall under section 377 (unnatural sex) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) as there was 'no intercourse'. According to the IPC, "Whoever voluntarily has carnal intercourse against the order of nature with any man, woman or animal, shall be punished with imprisonment for life, or imprisonment of for a term which may extend to ten years, and shall also be liable to fine. Penetration is sufficient to constitute intercourse necessary to the offence."

On December 4 last year, Munira Hasan Sheikh, 29, who regularly feeds strays in Sham Nagar, heard one of the dogs wailing. In a nearby garden, she saw Chandu Gudda Poojari, 75, a cleaner who works in a nearby temple, repeatedly inserting his finger into a female dog's anus, as she struggled to escape from his clutches. "A few days ago, this dog, who I used to feed, had gone missing. I went to search for her, and found her tied to a tree in the garden. A lot of people told me that Poojari would often take her to the garden. No one of them knew what he did to her. I could not believe my eyes when I saw what he was doing. The dog was crying in pain. When I screamed at Poojari, he tried to run away." She added, "We must raise our voices against this monstrous behaviour."

Sheikh then called up Salim Charania, president of the Peace for Animals Welfare Association (PAWA), an NGO, who told her to inform the police. For a month, Charania tried to convince the Meghwadi police to register a case under section 377. However, the police registered a case only under section 119 of the Bombay Police Act (punishment for cruelty to animals). This section pertains to those who beat, goad, overwork, ill-treat or torture or procure to be cruelly beaten, goaded, over-worked, ill-treated or tortured any animal, shall, on conviction, be punished with imprisonment which may extend to one month or fine, or both. "It is horrifying that people can subject animals to such torture. They must not be allowed to get away with such crimes," Charania told dna.

Asked why section 377 was not applied to the case, an inspector from Meghwadi police station said, "We have been deliberating on the matter for the past 1 month. Our law officer advised us that section 377 does not apply in the case because there was no penile penetration. He was arrested and let off with a fine."