This IIT graduate loses arm in crocodile attack

Image for representational purpose only

New Delhi: A young entrepreneur lost his left forearm to a crocodile attack on Sunday morning while taking a stroll at a lake in Ramanagaram – on the outskirts of Bengaluru in Karnataka.

Police said the 26-year-old IIT alumnus, Mudit Dandwate, who is from Nagpur, had gone trekking in a forest area near Thattekere Lake in Ramanagara district, with a friend.

The duo, accompanied by two dogs, had visited a temple at Thattekere, located in the middle of the forest and 38 km from city centre.

After visiting the temple, they decided to take a walk in the Thattakere lake adjacent to the temple in Anekal forest division, along with the dogs.

Upon noticing the lake, the dogs ran into the water. Dandwate, who ran behind the dogs to get them out of water, was attacked by a crocodile as he failed to see the creature, which resulted in the loss of his left forearm.

Dandwate, who runs a healthcare startup in Bengaluru, was rushed to a hospital by the forest staff for treatment. He is currently undergoing treatment at Hosmat Hospital.

According to Dr Thomas Chandy, Chief of Orthopaedics, Hosmat hospital, a crocodile bite is toxic and doctors are performing a medical procedure called debridement to clean the arm to ensure there's no infection.

He said Dandwate would be given an artificial forearm in three months once the process is successful and the wound would be closed.

The forest department, who is looking into the matter, claimed that there were boards at the lake warning about crocodiles.