UP: Dalit boy kidnapped, stripped & assaulted by 5 over social media comment; accused claim victim insulted sister, 3 held

BAREILLY: Three persons, including two minors, were nabbed after a 16-year-old Dalit boy was allegedly abducted, stripped naked and assaulted following an argument on social media, with the entire episode recorded in Bareilly, police said on Sunday.

Two other accused are on the run.The incident took place on the night of Dec 31, and the video of the assault surfaced on Saturday. Circle officer (CO) Ashutosh Shivam said an FIR was registered under BNS sections 137(2) (kidnapping), 191(2) (rioting), 115(2) (voluntarily causing hurt), Section 67B of the IT Act and relevant sections of the SC/ST Act.

Investigation revealed that the accused's resentment stemmed from a dispute over comments made on social media.

The accused claimed the survivor had made objectionable remarks about the sister of one of them. Police said the victim — son of a daily wage labourer — and the accused lived in the same neighbourhood.According to the complaint filed by the boy's mother, her son was out for a walk when the accused (names withheld) arrived on motorcycles, abducted him at gunpoint and took him to a secluded spot near a pond. Police said the accused brandished knives and firearms, stripped the youth and beat him brutally. During the assault, they allegedly filmed the incident to intimidate and humiliate him further. The boy managed to escape and reached home, and narrated his ordeal to his family. He was taken to hospital and was discharged after treatment.