A minor boy was tied to a tree, beaten up and tonsured in front of his parents for stealing Rs. 30. The bizarre incident reportedly occurred on Sunday in Chandikhol in Jajpur district, about 70 km east of Bhubaneswar. Jajpur superintendent of police Deepak Kumar told the Hindustan Times that they arrested four persons on Monday in connection with the incident. “We are looking for some more persons,” he said.

Ganesh Guin, 15-year-old son of a daily wage labourer, was caught by some people on the allegations of stealing a wallet containing the meagre amount from a construction site.

In their eagerness to deliver ‘instant justice’, they tied him to a tree and started beating him. His ordeal continued for more than an hour as they tonsured his head, blackened his face and moved him around half-naked in front of villagers, including his parents.

His mother’s plea of handing him over to police did not move the tormentors.

Police started an investigation on its own after the footage of the incident was shown in a local television. “As nobody had given a complaint, we brought the boy to our police station and lodged a case on the basis of his oral report,” Prasanta Majhi, inspector in charge of Badachana police station, said.