Two boys were beaten up, tonsured, stripped and paraded naked for stealing food from a shop in the Premnagar area of Thane district, nearly 60 km from downtown Mumbai. The incident came to light on Sunday.
The shop owner, Mehmood Pathan (69) and his sons Irfan (26) and Salim (22) were arrested.
“We have registered a case and arrested the suspects,” said senior police inspector Mohan Waghmare of the Hill Line police station.
The three have been booked under relevant sections of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act and the Indian Penal Code.
A clip of the incident also went viral on the social media. The boys — aged 7 and 8 — are brothers and were tortured because they picked up a ‘chakli’ from a shop and ate it without the permission of the shop owner.
“They shaved their heads and paraded them naked on the street as a punishment. My sons should be given justice,” the mother of the two boys said. According to reports, Mehmood and his sons also made the boys wear a garland of slippers before parading them.
Deccan Herald is on WhatsApp Channels| Join now for Breaking News & Editor's Picks