Seven booked after video of assault goes viral

Seven youngsters, all except one of them juveniles, were booked by the Kalamasserry police after a video of them assaulting a 17-year-old went viral on social media.

An 18-year-old among the accused was arrested and released on bail. The rest were sent back to their homes with their parents who were summoned to the police station. The accused and the victim were friends and hailed from the same neighbourhood in Glass Factory Colony in Kalamasserry.

The incident took place on a vacant plot in the colony on Thursday and one of the assailants captured the video of the brutal assault and posted it on social media.

“The 17-year-old victim was cornered by the rest, his friends, alleging that he was having an affair with the sister of one of the accused and for talking about their smoking habits. We will submit a social background report on the juvenile accused to the Child Welfare Committee after verifying their antecedents,” said P.R. Santhosh, Station House Officer, Kalamasserry police.

All the seven accused were charged with Sections 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 324 (voluntarily causing hurt by dangerous means or weapons), 341 (wrongful restraint), 506 (criminal intimidation), 146 (rioting), and 149 (unlawful assembly) of the Indian Penal Code.

The police registered a suo motu case after taking note of the video.