UP: Family tortured, minor given electric shock on theft suspicion

A family of six, including a 18-month-old baby, was held captive in a small room for nearly 36 hours over suspicion of jewellery theft.

The men, who held them captive, allegedly assaulted members of the family, including a 12-year-old boy, who, they claimed, was the prime accused.

The boy, identified as Aamir Khan, was given electric shocks, burned with cigarette butts, kicked in the stomach and punched on the face multiple times. The family was not even provided food and water during the entire period of confinement.

A video of the injured and scared teenager shows grave injury marks below his eyes, face, limbs, back with burn marks. He was in deep trauma, and was continuously shivering out of pain and fear, when Dial 112 team came to rescue him and his family members on Sunday morning.

The victims have been identified as Nizam (48), his wife Mubina (45), Sonu (20), Ruksana (daughter-in-law), Hassan (18-month-old grandson) and Amir Khan.

The persons arrested for holding them captive include Abrar, Mohshin, Zubair, Nadeem, Shyama and two other unidentified men.

Amir told reporters that, "On Friday afternoon, Abrar took me to the third floor of his house and brutally assaulted me after confining me in a room. He rained lashes, kicked me in the stomach, punched me in the face, gave electric shocks and burned me with cigarette butts. He wanted to know the whereabouts of stolen jewellery, for which I had no idea. He was accusing me for the theft."

Nizam, the victim's father said, "When Aamir did not return home by 7.30 p.m. on Friday, I called him, but there was no response. Later at around 8 p.m., Abrar along with another man came to my house and searched the entire home. Following which, he asked me and my wife Mubina to come along with him at his house."

In the house, Nizam and Mubina were assaulted and confined to a room.

"When my elder son Sonu came to inquire about us, he too was dragged inside the room of the third floor and assaulted. However, he managed to escape and jumped off the roof to call for help, but was caught by Abrar and his men. Abrar then called my daughter-in-law Ruksana and her son Samir (8), on the pretext of fetching help to admit Sonu in hospital, but instead he confined Ruksana and her 18-month-old son Hassan too with us. Samir managed to flee," said Nizam.

Samir managed to contact their relatives in Tajganj and then they dialled a distress call to 112 for police help.

After being rescued by Dial 112 team, the victims were brought to Shahganj police station, but the entire Sunday passed and no FIR was lodged. The accused persons were also let off by SHO Satyendra Singh Raghav.

Mubina, the victim, said, "The police took Rs 50,000 and let Abrar and his men go away. We sat for the entire day at the police station, but they did not even provide us with medical aid."

Meanwhile, SHO Shahganj Satyendra Singh Raghav said, "The family was illiterate and did not know how to write a complaint. Therefore, the FIR could not be filed on Sunday but the same was filed on Monday with the help of local residents."

Superintendent of police (Agra city), Rohan Botre said, "The SHO did not file FIR on Sunday, therefore I had to intervene and reprimand him for his unprofessional conduct and asked him to file FIR on Monday. A detailed investigation will be carried out in the entire matter."

The accused men have been booked under IPC sections 147 (riot), 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 324 (Voluntarily causing hurt by dangerous weapons), 342 (Punishment for wrongful confinement), 354 (assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty), 448 (Punishment for house-trespass), 504 (whoever intentionally insults, and thereby gives provocation to any person, intending or knowing it to be likely that such provocation will cause him to break the public peace, or to commit any other offence) and 506 (Punishment for criminal intimidation).