Mangaluru city police registered a case against eight college students, including seven minors, under Pocso Act after a video of two students kissing went viral on social media, officials said on Friday.
In the purported video, a boy and girl could be seen kissing in a flat as their friends cheered them, police said, adding that they have verified the video.
According to the police, the case has been registered based on a complaint lodged by the parents of the girl in the video. Based on the complaint, a case has been registered against eight students under sections 376, 354, and 354 (C) Indian Penal Code, which pertains to sexual assault, sections 4, 8, 12, 13, 17 of (Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Pocso) Act and Sections 66 (E) and 67 of IT Act, said police.
The 20-second video was filmed in January this year. It was posted on social media platforms last week.
Police Commissioner N Shashi Kumar said that police presented the arrested students before the juvenile justice court on Fridayafter they were detained earlier in the day. “The juvenile court didn’t send them to correction home, instead sent them to their parent’s custody on the condition that they will appear before the investigators for questioning,” said Kumar.
{{/usCountry}}Police Commissioner N Shashi Kumar said that police presented the arrested students before the juvenile justice court on Fridayafter they were detained earlier in the day. “The juvenile court didn’t send them to correction home, instead sent them to their parent’s custody on the condition that they will appear before the investigators for questioning,” said Kumar.
{{/usCountry}}According to him, in January, they had gathered at an apartment for a gathering. During a “truth or dare” game, a classmate kissed another classmate. One of the boys recorded this video and uploaded it on social media last week without her permission. A teacher was the admin of one of the groups where the video was uploaded. The teacher informed the college management and after an enquiry, suspended the eight students.
Commissioner Kumar visited the apartment where the incident took place. The house owner, a woman, informed the commissioner that two boys had rented the flat where the incident took place. They later vacated the house.
Asked why sections of rape have been slapped against the youth, Kumar said that the cases were about the circulation of the video and sexual assault. “The girl in the video is a minor. During the investigation, there was information about sexual intercourse between two minors, amounting to sexual assault under Posco and sections of IPC. As of now, no one is in custody. We will get more details as the investigation progresses,” he said.