Boy tied to tree for nine years for biting dogs

August 16, 2006

Authorities in Indian state of West Bengal rescued a 15-year-old boy tied to a tree for nine years because he used to bite dogs and goats besides gnawing on the feet of relatives and neighbours, officials said today.

Rahul Amin Dhali was just six when he first bit a dog in Biramnagar village, 60km north of Kolkata, the state capital, they said.

A few days later he tasted the flesh of a family member.

"We chose to ignore the issue since he was just a child but it turned worse with every passing day," Rahman Dhali, the boy's father, told Reuters.

Rahul later wandered off in the village and bit a goat grazing in a field before nibbling at the paws of the neighbour's pet dog, leaving Rahman, a poor farmer, flummoxed.

When neighbours' complaints increased, the Dhalis chained their son by the wrist to a tree in front of their house, where the boy has since been taught to read.

"We found him tied to a tree with a long chain near a pond and he seemed very sick to us," said Sushanata Dutta, a senior government official who organised Monday's rescue mission after being told of Rahul's condition by village health workers.

"Dhali had the habit of nibbling at his hands and feet when he failed to lure dogs and cats for a bite," Dutta added.

Doctors said the boy was suffering from a serious neurological disorder and was admitted to a psychiatric hospital in Kolkata for treatment.

"Everyone was scared about Dhali because they thought he was a demon possessed with evil powers, but actually he should be fine with several months of treatment," Ranadip Ghosh Roy, one of the doctors treating Rahul, said.

Reuters