IIT-Bombay alumnus who lost his arm to a croc, now booked for trespassing

Mudit loved his dog dearly and his Twitter account is a great testimonial of the love he had for his dog. He had gone to the Thattekere Lake in Ramanagar district with his friend and two dogs for a picnic. Although a major tourist destination, the lake is also infested with crocodiles.

It is a double setback for 26-year old IIT-Bombay alumnus Mudit Dandwate. A Bengaluru-based entrepreneur, Mudit had lost his arm to a crocodile while attempting to save his pet dog. As he was undergoing surgery on Monday, he received his second blow. The Karnataka forest authorities have now booked a case of trespassing under Section 24 of the Karnataka Forest Act, 1963, against him. The Thattekere Lake in Ramanagar district where the accident happened, is located inside a protected forest.

The forest department has sought the help of Mudit's friend who had accompanied Mudit to the forest. There are divided opinions about the incident. While forest officials and authorities say that Mudit should have paid attention to the signboards of the danger that dot the area, there are others that believe that it would not have been possible for him to read the instructions as they were in Kannada. However, a more logical reasoning that officials gave was that the signboards also had pictorial depiction of the dangers that lay ahead. 

On Monday, Mudit underwent an surgery to clear off injured muscles, ligaments and arteries on his left hand. Doctors said that a prosthetic can be attached to his elbow after a month and a half. Speaking to the TOI, Dr Thomas Chandy, director and chief of orthopedics, Hosmat Hospital said, "He survived only because the crocodile grabbed his hand. Usually, crocodiles drown you and then grab you. Had it grabbed his hip, abdomen, chest or even thighs, chances of survival would have been bleak. Mudit is the first crocodile attack survivor I have seen in my career. He is still in trauma and will take time to recover."