Himachal Pradesh: In a shocking incident, a minor boy was allegedly beaten up and paraded naked in Shimla district after being caught stealing a packet of chips. Police on Sunday informed that seven people have been arrested in connection with this. As per the officials, the "shameful" incident took place on July 31 when the 15-year-old was caught stealing by the shop's owner in Rohru town.
Shimla Superintendent of Police (SP) Sanjeev Kumar Gandhi told that the next day, the mother of the minor boy died due to an ailment for which she had been hospitalised. He added that a video of the incident surfaced on social media a couple of days later.
Following this, based on a complaint by the boy's father, seven people were booked under sections 341 (punishment for wrongful confinement), 342 and 323 (voluntarily causing hurt) of the IPC, section 14 of the Protection Of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and section 75 of the Juvenile Justice Act.
Leader of the Opposition in the state Jai Ram Thakur reacted to the "cruel" incident and said such acts would not be tolerated in Dev Bhoomi Himachal. He said that the law-and-order situation in the state has deteriorated.
SP Gandhi said four people were arrested for assault, wrongful confinement and parading the minor naked and three more were held for recording the episode on video and sharing it. Eight mobile phones have been confiscated from the accused. Strict action would be ensured against the accused so that such incidents are not repeated, he added.
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