Men who thrashed teen booked under POCSO

NEW DELHI: Delhi Police on Friday booked four men, who had been earlier arrested for assaulting a 16-year-old boy in southwest Delhi’s Inderpuri, under stringent

NEW DELHI: Delhi Police on Friday booked four men, who had been earlier arrested for assaulting a 16-year-old boy in southwest Delhi’s Inderpuri, under stringent sections of POCSO and the IT Act.

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The police had earlier booked the men, identified as Sumit, Aman, Raju and Shankar, under lenient sections of voluntarily causing hurt and confining a victim. A fifth accused, Sunny Rana, is absconding.

The police added the charges of sexual assault on Friday after a section of media reported that the victim had been assaulted on his genitals. The victim was sent for a second medical examination at RML hospital.

Joint commissioner of police (southwest) Deependra Pathak confirmed that the police had added stringent sections of the POCSO Act against the accused. Pathak said that the incident took place on May 23 but the police were informed about it on May 25. “The victim in his initial statement had only said that he had been beaten up by the five men. He had alleged that he was physically assaulted and threatened. We registered a case of causing hurt and criminal intimidation and arrested the youths,” Pathak said.

Police later acted on media reports, in which the victim alleged that he was paraded naked and beaten with beer bottles on his private parts. The victim in his second statement on Friday levelled allegations of sexual assault.

Narrating the sequence of events, a relative of the minor said that around 11 pm on May 23, the boy saw a two wheeler parked at the local Dawakhana market.

“My cousin was playing with the scooter and tried to kick start it. The five men suddenly appeared on the spot and accused him of attempting to steal the scooter,” said one of the minor’s relative.

The five took him to a nearby room, where they removed his clothes and thrashed him. They shot a video of him while he was being assaulted. “They removed his clothes and forced him to sit on glass shards. He was kicked on his genitals,” his relative told HT.

Before approaching the police on May 25, the victim had tried to commit suicide after learning that his videos had been circulated among all residents in his area. Police said they have added sections of the IT Act.