Kundara police have registered a case against seven teenagers after a video of them assaulting two boys aged 14 and 13 went viral.
Though the incident took place on January 24, it was brought to the attention of authorities after the footage of the brutal attack started circulating in social media.
According to police officials, the Class VIII and IX students, both of them residents of Thattarkonam, were beaten by a gang of older adolescents, all of them juveniles except two, following a minor argument over phone.
“Two of the boys were attending the same tuition centre and they had a spat over the phone. Next day the younger boy was summoned through a common acquaintance and he went there with the friend. Both he and the friend were bullied and beaten up by the group,” said an official.
In the video one of the youths is seen ruthlessly thrashing the defenseless boy while others look on. The visuals also show the boy begging them to leave him as they continue the physical and verbal abuse. While one of the boys was kicked and beaten with a belt several times, the other was punched with stones.
According to the boys, they were forcefully taken to a deserted paddy field in Mampuzha and tortured for nearly one hour.
They also threatened the boys of dire consequences if they dared to speak against them to the authorities. It was one of the group members who filmed the attack and circulated it following which the parents of the Class VIII student filed a complaint.
The police took the statements of both the victims on Wednesday and all the seven youngsters have been charged with various sections under IPC.
