In Madhya Pradesh's Indore, a 11-year-old boy was allegedly stripped naked and forced to chant 'Jai Shri Ram' by a group of minors from another community.
The minors also shot the entire incident on camera and posted it on social media. Within hours, the video went viral, police said on Thursday, 13 April.
Speaking to the media, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Indore) Suraj Verma said that the boy was taken to an isolated place by the minors, whom he knew, on the pretext of playing, and was thrashed by them.
"A complainant came to the Lasudia police station complaining that his 12-year-old child was taken to an isolated place by minor children known to him and was stripped and thrashed," DCP Suraj Verma said.
The incident is said to have happened in the Nipania area of Indore, under the Lasudia police station limits on Wednesday, 12 April.
As per the victim's statement, he was approached by the minors while he was playing, and was told that toys were being distributed near Best Price, a supermarket in the area.
Following this, the victim went with the other minors who allegedly took him to the edge of a pond, forced him to take off his clothes, and chant religious slogans.
A case has been registered against the accused minors under Sections 323 (Punishment for voluntarily causing hurt), 294 (obscene act in any public place), and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code as well as provisions of The Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2000.
The video that went viral purportedly shows a few youths thrashing another minor and forcing him to chant slogans like 'Jai Shri Ram' and 'Jai Mahakal'.
Indore Police, after registering the case, took the minor accused into police custody and have initiated the counselling process for the victim.
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