ByThe accused, Raghuvendra Chaurasia, has been charged under Indian Penal Code Section 377 for unnatural sex.An 18-year-old security guard in a housing society in Thane has been charged under the Indian Penal Code Section 377 (unnatural sex), after he was allegedly caught while sexually abusing a dog inside the watchman’s cabin on Friday evening.The man, Raghuvendra Chaurasia,who works at Lok Puram Society in Pawar Nagar has been arrested by the Vartak Nagar police.The residents alleged that around 7.30 pm on Friday, a few of them saw the guard “raping” the dog, and called up their neighbour Aditya Nadkarni, a member of an NGO called Pet Owners and Animal Lovers (PAL).Nadkarni alerted PAL chairperson Aditi Nair, who rushed to the spot with members Nirali Shah and Viveka Vatwani.“I confronted the guard and asked whether he had sexually abusedthe dog, to which he said yes. He denied being under the influence of alcohol or any other substance,” Nair said.The residents called up the police control room, after which officers from Vartak Nagar Police Station reached the spot.“The dog was very scared. It seemed that it trusted the guard, who used to feed it. Security agencies should be careful while screening potential employees. Thankfully this is a society that cares for its animals. Residents take turns to feed the stray dogs,” Nair added.Senior Inspector KG Gavit from Vartak Nagar Police Station confirmed the guard had been detained.The Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code dates back to 1860, and criminalises sexual activities “against the order of nature”.This is a rare instance of this section being applied by the city police. In January this year, a 75-yearold man was arrested for sexually abusing a dog in Jogeshwari. However, the section was not invoked, and he was let off after he paid a fine. In March last year, the Nalasopara Police had also let off a man caught while having sex with a dog.