The police in western Assam’s Bongaigaon district on Friday registered a case against a group of villagers for alleged moral policing that drove a 16-year-old boy to death.
Reports said a kangaroo court in Bharalkundi village had fined the boy, Uday Malo, ₹42,000 for allegedly being disrespectful to a woman three days ago. There was no clarity on what exactly happened, but some villagers said the boy had hit the woman while riding his bicycle.
The villagers said the boy was going through depression since the kangaroo court slapped the penalty. “His family did not have the money to pay,” a villager said, adding that the boy was run over by a train.
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The boy’s family lodged a complaint after his death late on Thursday. “I have asked the local police to investigate thoroughly and find the cause behind the boy’s death and see to it that the culprits are not spared,” said Subodh K. Sonowal, the district’s Superintendent of Police.