Ayoung Nalla Sopara man was caught having sex with a stray puppy, but the police let him off with only a warning, residents alleged on Wednesday.The police’s casual attitude towards animal abuse has angered animal rights activists, who say the unidentified man should have been arrested and charged with “unnatural offences” under the Indian Penal Code.The incident happened last weekend, and the injured two-month-old puppy was taken to a veterinarian. The dog was later released.“It’s shocking — the man’s depravity and the authorities’ response,” said Shakuntala Majumdar, president of Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA), Thane. “Someone who treats animals this way should be arrested immediately.”Residents allege the man lured the puppy with some food into a deserted lane in Nalla Sopara’s Mathura Nagar locality and had sex with it. The dog’s yelping alarmed the locals, who caught the man red-handed.A group of around 30 people thrashed the man, who was apparently drunk, and dragged him to the Nalla Sopara police station.“The poor puppy was bleeding, but cops didn’t take any action against him. They said that man was clearly drunk and we should forget about the incident,” a resident, who didn’t want to be named, said.The police, however, called an animal welfare group which took the dog to local vet Dr Sarjana Vale.Another resident said that this was not the first time such an incident had happened. “We believe the same man had sex with a dog in Oswal Nagari area sometime back. We had rescued the dog at the time, but could not nab the pervert,” the resident said.Inspector Sanjay Nikam of the Nalla Sopara police station said he had not read his staff’s report on the latest incident. “But I will look into the matter and ensure proper action,” he said.