“My clothes were removed and they kept beating me with belts. They hit me on my back, hands and chest. Whenever I begged them to leave me, they assaulted me even more,” he told the police. (Representational)FOUR MEN from the Sakinaka area in Andheri allegedly stripped, assaulted and locked a 18-year-old teenager in a room for over four hours for allegedly stealing Rs 1.45 lakh from a shop. The men also allegedly shot a video of the act and posted it on social media. The elder brother of the victim filed a police complaint after he came across the video on a WhatsApp group, and an FIR was registered against four persons. Among them, one was arrested on Thursday.
The police said that around 4 pm on February 26, two of the accused visited the teen at his residence. “The victim knew them… he left with them on their scooter,” said an officer.
The teen was taken to a shop at Salim compound in Sakinaka’s Shrinagar area. Suddenly, the accused started slapping him, the officer said. In his statement to the police, the teen has said: “They started inquiring about the cash that had gone missing from the shop (of another accused). They accused me of stealing. I denied the allegation but the two kept on beating me.”
The teen added that soon, the other two accused arrived at the shop. They ordered that his clothes be removed and he be beaten up with belts. “My clothes were removed and they kept beating me with belts. They hit me on my back, hands and chest. Whenever I begged them to leave me, they assaulted me even more,” he told the police.
While three of the accused assaulted the teen, the fourth man shot a video of the whole incident, said the police.
Around 8 pm, the teen was let off with a warning that his nude video would be posted on social media if he tries to lodge a police complaint.
The teen returned home but didn’t tell anyone about the incident. The same night, he tried running away from the house. “We found him and stopped him. Still, he didn’t tell us anything about the incident. We took him to Rajawadi hospital that night and saw his injuries but he still did not confide in us,” said the boy’s mother.
Two days later, the teen’s brother saw the video on WhatsApp and confronted the teen. On March 1, the family approached the police. A case on charges of assault, wrongful confinement, criminal intimidation and common intention was registered under IPC and IT Act.
Investigating officer, Sub-Inspector Sunil Shinde of Sakinaka police, said: “We learnt that one of the accused has surrendered at the Andheri court. He was arrested on Thursday.” The others are absconding.
The police said that a separate case of theft has been registered by the uncle of the arrested accused. The CCTV footage has shown that a person resembling the complainant had entered the shop and stolen the cash.
“The accused claimed that the boy confessed to the theft to him but as he refused to hand over the cash, they assaulted him. But the boy said he did not steal,” said an officer.
“Since the incident, I have not heard my talkative son’s voice… I am scared that he may may take the extreme step,” said the teen’s mother.
