Bengaluru techie mistaken for thief after jumping gate to flee stray dogs

The residents demanded to check his identity verifications, like PAN and Aadhar cards, and even away took his phone until his innocence was proven.

As the debate on stray dogs rages across all platforms after the Supreme Court of India asked the Delhi government to relocate stray dogs from the streets to dedicated shelters, a software engineer from Bengaluru took to Reddit to narrate an incident, where he entered a compound as he was escaping from stray dogs, and the residents suspected him of theft.

Two days ago, the user had experienced a bizarre incident, which led him to share his thoughts on the social media platform.

Originally from the North India, the user works as a software engineer in the city, and he was walking through HSR Layout, around 11 pm, when he was chased by a pack of stray dogs. He was soon in a situation where he had to jump over a building gate, or over a car to escape the group of dogs. He chose to jump over the gate. Soon enough, a man and two women approached him, seeming to be residents in the building.

The man tried to explain the situation to them, "I immediately apologised, told them I was chased by dogs, and explained I had no other option. My tone the whole time was apologetic."

The residents, the man says jumped to certain conclusions, and accused him of being a thief. "Instead of understanding, they started suspecting me of being a thief. They said they wanted “proof” and took my phone, saying they would return it after verifying. Then they said they’d only return it the next morning “if” my story checked out," he wrote.

The residents reportedly demanded to check his identity verifications, like PAN and Aadhaar cards, and even away kept his phone until his innocence was proven.

He felt it was unfair, as they were unwilling to believe him. And only after a neighbour was called to check the CCTV footage, he was given back his phone.

"I asked them repeatedly to just check their CCTV and verify right then, or to call the police immediately. They refused both. For almost 30 minutes, they kept my phone while I stood there feeling completely helpless," he added.

He further shared how he was expecting empathy, but was treated like a criminal. This has the left the internet in splits, with comments stating the fear of the residents were justifies to an extent, while others support his claim of unfair treatment.

A comment mentioned, "You first understand that a man coming into their home late at night is a serious threat to them. They have all rights to be defensive till you prove your facts. You should have asked to call the police first," as they stated how their defensive stance was justified keeping in mind the time of the incident.

Another user commented, "I don’t see problems in what you did to save yourself." With the users divided on the situation, the viral post garnered attention and turned attention towards the ongoing problems faced due to stray dog encounters.

With over 12,000 dog bite incidents reported by the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) and the Supreme Court verdict pushed forward in Delhi, the solutions to lessen such incidents that may escalate to injury, or even death in certain cases, are being looked into by municipal corporations and governments alike.