KADAPA: A Dalit boy was thrashed and set afire by sprinkling petrol on his face by five youngsters at Onipenta in Mydukur mandal for allegedly stealing and consuming liquor that the accused had stocked. Additional Superintendent of Police M Devaprasad on Monday said, the boy went to a tea shop in the village on Sunday night. Alleging that he stole the liquor stocked by them and consumed it, the quintet picked an argument with the boy.
Though the boy denied the allegation of stealing liquor bottles, the quintet thrashed him with motorcycle wires. In an apparent attempt to kill him, one of the accused drew petrol from the motorcycle, sprinkled it on his face and set him afire,’’ the Additional SP said. A youth, who was present at the place, tried to prevent the five accused from setting the boy afire. But he was overpowered by the quintet, he said.
The boy, however, managed to free himself from the clutches of the five accused and went to a hospital in Mydukur where he was given first aid. Later, the boy’s parents shifted him to Kadapa RIMS. The accused have been identified as Bandi Kishore of Musalinayinipalle, K Veera Raju of Onipenta and Pilli Kalyan, S Kiran and another minor of Obulapuram. The accused have been taken into custody for questioning. A case under the SC/ST Act and other sections of the IPC, has been registered against them.