The man in Vasant Kunj from whose house 27 starving dogs were rescued on Sunday was a “recluse” who had been more out of sorts lately, neighbours said.

Gokul Nair, in his mid-30s, was last seen on Saturday and was not in the house when his flat was forced open to save the dogs. He lived alone in the first-floor, duplex flat in Vasant Kunj’s B-1 locality.

Kamlesh Gupta, who lives downstairs, said Nair’s parents lived with him earlier. “They lived here for about four years before Gokul came to live with them. The parents left soon after Gokul’s arrival,” Gupta told Newsline.

Namrata Agarwal, who lives in the flat opposite Nair’s, said he had been wearing a “constant smirk” of late. “Initially, when Gokul started keeping stray dogs at home, we had no problem. Others here also have pets. But then, the number of dogs started increasing,” she said.

“Six months after he moved in, his parents left for Kerala,” she said. Once his parents left, there was no controlling Nair, she said. The number of dogs rose sharply and the house started to stink.

“For the past three years, we have not eaten at our dining table because of the stench,” Agarwal said, showing her dining table positioned close to the main door. “It was difficult to use the stairs, too.”

There was constant barking, day and night. “Sometimes, we would wake up in the middle of the night to dogs barking. We tried talking to him several times, but after a while, he stopped responding.”

Over the past few months, his behaviour had become more unusual. Efforts were made to contact his parents in Kerala but his parents admitted to a neighbour here that they could not “handle” him. “Though Gokul never assaulted anyone physically, he had a constant smirk on his face and an unusual way of staring.”

Sometimes, Nair would sit on the stairs or stand in the corridor for hours. On some days, he sat in his car all day and observed people. “He never spoke to anyone. When we tried talking to him, he would start screaming. So, we left him alone,” a security guard said.

Last year, Agarwal and others complained about Nair to the Residents’ Welfare Association, following which a case was registered with police. The matter is currently pending in Dwarka court. A senior officer from Vasant Kunj (North) police station said, “Animal rights activists had accompanied us to his house. But each time, he would clean up the area.”

Sonya Ghosh, founder of Citizens for the Welfare and Protection of Animals, had been in touch with Nair since last year.

“In March 2013, the Animal Welfare Board of India inspected his house and found everything in order. There is no cap on the number of dogs one can keep till there is no cruelty to the animals. The vaccination records of his dog were pretty much in place.”

In November this year, Nair reportedly approached Ghosh saying he could not manage so many dogs. “I spoke with a few dog shelters and three of them agreed to take his dogs in. When I took a vet to his house, we were shocked to see heaps of dog mess everywhere. The sofa and legs of chairs were chewed. The pets had clearly been starving.”

Three days later, Ghosh told Gokul that the dogs would be rehabilitated and the shelters would send ambulances to fetch the canines. “But when I met him on Saturday, he said I could not touch his dogs. Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals sent in their vehicles but Nair locked himself in. We then went there with police on Sunday and broke open the door.”

The dogs, Ghosh said, were scared and many had their ribs protruding. “Last year, he had 18 dogs. On Sunday, he had 25 dogs aged between 3 and 4 years and two newborn puppies. Many of them were kept inside cupboards. All the doors and windows were shut but fans were switched on. There was also no food in the house for either the dogs or Nair himself.”

The dogs have been sent to Sanjay Gandhi hospital and will remain there before being offered for adoption. Gokul is absconding.

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