Two Dalit boys assaulted, paraded naked in Maharashtra’s Ulhasnagar for stealing snacks

Mumbai: In a shocking incident, two minor Dalit boys were allegedly assaulted, their heads tonsured and paraded naked with a garland of chappals around their necks in Ulhasnagar in Thane district of Maharashtra on Saturday evening.

The boys, aged 8 and 9 years, respectively, who are brothers, were accused of stealing chakli from a shop in Ulhasnagar. The Hill Line police have arrested Mehmood Pathan, 69, and his sons Irfan, 25, and Tavakal, 20, who run the shop.

The three not only assaulted the boys but recorded the entire incident on their cellphones and posted it on social media. In the video, one of the accused is seen slapping the boys. They said that the boys used to regularly steal from their shop in Ulhasnagar Camp 3.

“The children went home and narrated the incident to their parents, who approached the police. We later arrested the trio and they said that they wanted to set an example in the locality,” said a Hill Line police officer.

“We have arrested the accused under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offenses Act (POCSO) and Prevention of Atrocities Act. We produced them before the Ulhasnagar court and they were remanded in police custody for two days,” said MG Waghmare, Senior Inspector.

“We are investigating if others too involved are in the incident,” said Waghmare.

UTTER CRUELTY

• The boys, aged 8 and 9 yrs, respectively, were accused of stealing chakli from a shop in Ulhasnagar.
• The three assaulted the boys and posted the video on social media

Source: DNA