KOLKATA: A day after their arrest, Kolkata Police on Tuesday paraded three accused persons bare-chested and in shorts through a road in the southern part of the city to reconstruct an alleged moral policing incident in which a 17-year-old boy, his father and a friend were forced to walk naked at gunpoint in the Sarsuna area on Sunday night. The police action triggered controversy over alleged human rights violations.
The accused, the father, maternal uncle and elder brother of a 13-year-old girl, were taken through the area barefoot, with ropes tied around their waists, a police official said.
The incident on Sunday evening occurred within the Sarsuna Police Station limits after the teenager was allegedly caught kissing the girl by her family. The boy and his friend were taken to the girl’s house at Kshudiram Pally, where they were allegedly confined and assaulted by her family members and relatives.
The teenager’s father was then allegedly summoned to the house. "After I reached there, I was also assaulted by at least six people. Then the girl's maternal uncle gave me a gun, saying that I have two options. One is to shoot my son or walk naked with him," the boy's father claimed in front of reporters. "People took videos of me, my son and his friend walking naked. It was such a humiliation for us."
The three victims were allegedly forced to strip and paraded for about 50 metres on the road in front of the girl’s residence. Police said the friend of the teenager was also assaulted and subjected to similar humiliation.
According to police sources, a friend of the girl’s maternal uncle had seen the teenager kissing her at Khalpar ground and informed her father and maternal uncle. They allegedly took the boy and his friend to the house and called other locals to the spot.
"The woman's family allegedly caught them together and subsequently confined the young man inside a house. The young man was allegedly assaulted by the woman's father and maternal uncle," an officer said. "After that, the woman's family allegedly handed the man's father a firearm and threatened him with a choice: either to kill his son or walk naked through the streets," he said.
A video purportedly showing the incident has gone viral on social media. This newspaper did not verify the authenticity of the video. "The video sparked tension in the locality, as angry residents allegedly attempted to vandalise the woman's house. A police team rushed to the spot and brought the situation under control," the officer added, requesting anonymity.
Police arrested the girl’s father, mother and maternal uncle after the teenager’s father lodged an FIR at the Sarsuna police station, naming all three. The police action on Tuesday was described by some as instant justice, while it also drew criticism over alleged human rights violations.