E-Paper
2 held in Telangana for torturing boys on suspicion of Mango theft
The boys entered the mango orchard in search of their missing pet dog but were caught by the guards of the orchard on the suspicion that they were planning to steal mangoes.
Two men were arrested in Telangana’s Mahabubabad district for allegedly beating up two teenagers, tying them up with a rope, stuffing their mouths with buffalo dung before smearing it on their faces believing them to be mango thieves.
This incident occurred at Bothala Thanda (tribal hamlet) on the outskirts of Thorrur town on Thursday evening. A video of the torture, apparently shot by an onlooker, went viral in social media followed by the parents of the boys lodging a police complaint.
“We have arrested Banothu Yaku of Bothala Thanda and Banothu Ramulu of Hatchu Thanda, who were hired to guard the mango orchard. We shall produce them in the court later in the day,” Thorrur sub-inspector of police Ch Nagesh told HT.
The accused were booked under sections 342 (wrongful confinement), 324 (voluntarily causing hurt by dangerous weapons or means) and 504 (intentional insult and provocation) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Section 75 of the Juvenile Justice Act (Punishment for cruelty to Child).
SI Nagesh quoted from the complaint to say that the boys, in the age group of 12-13 years, entered the mango orchard in search of their missing pet dog but were caught by the guards of the orchard on the suspicion that they were planning to steal mangoes.
The video clip shows the two men tying the boys up with a rope and beating them with a stick, without heeding to their cries of innocence.
Even as the boys were crying, one of the guards brought some dung and stuffed it into their mouths, while the other guard encouraged him. Later, the two accused also smeared the boys’ faces with dung.
As the video went viral, local youth brought it to the notice of Mahabubabad collector V P Gautam and superintendent of police (SP) Nandyal Koti Reddy, who immediately ordered a probe into the incident.
“We took the two guards into custody late in the night and questioned them. We formally arrested them on Friday morning and shall send them to judicial remand,” the SI said.
