Ahmedabad: Two days after a pet Rottweiler fatally mauled a four-month-old girl and injured her teenage aunt in Radhe Residency, Hathijan, Ahmedabad, the dog’s owner, Dilip Ganpat Patel, was arrested on Wednesday. Patel has been booked for negligence leading to death.

According to the FIR filed by Dashrath Jasu Chauhan at Vivekanand Police Station, the incident occurred around 9:30 pm on May 12. Chauhan was returning home when neighbours informed him that the Rottweiler, owned by Patel, had attacked his 17-year-old daughter Heena and infant granddaughter Rushika, daughter of his elder daughter Puja. At LG Hospital, Chauhan found Rushika with severe bite injuries to her head and Heena wounded on her waist and abdomen. Rushika was declared dead by 10:45 pm.

Initially, the family declined a post-mortem and buried the infant near the Vatrak River in Mahemdabad. However, following police persuasion, the body was exhumed and an autopsy was conducted at the local Community Health Centre.

The FIR noted that the dog was an unneutered adult male Rottweiler, unregistered with the civic authorities. Chauhan, accompanied by his friends Ketanbhai and Sanjaybhai and other society members—including some previously bitten by the same dog—lodged the complaint.

Following the FIR, Patel was booked under Sections 106(1) (causing death by negligence) and 291 (negligent handling of animals) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and arrested.

Responding to the incident, state health minister Rushikesh Patel said the government would soon introduce regulations concerning the ownership of aggressive or exotic dog breeds in residential areas. While Rottweilers are not officially classified as wild, they are banned in some states due to past attacks. He added that Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel has directed officials to draft guidelines in line with court directives, and a clear policy will be implemented soon. DeshGujarat