HYDERABAD: A seven-year-old boy was recently thrashed by an apartment owner here for playing in a parking lot, apparently without any provocation. The incident, which took place on November 8, came to light only on Monday. CCTV footage shows the accused, Kranthi Swarup, beating Jayanth, lifting him by the shoulder, shaking him up and throwing him down.
The child then hurries away from the man, but is again cornered by him while parking his bicycle. This time, Swarup slaps the child, pins him against a parked car, and hits him again. After a passerby intervenes, he takes Jayanth upstairs. “As you can see in the footage, my son was just walking his bicycle. He had been playing with Swarup’s son for over two hours. However, Swarup sent his son upstairs and cornered my child,” said Jayanth’s father Anil Kumar.
“He didn’t stop at this. He dropped off my son and threatened my aunt. My wife and I were outside at the time, and he eventually called and threatened us as well,” Kumar added. The police registered a case under Sections 323, 341, 504 and 506 of the IPC and under Section 75 of the JJ Act, for voluntarily causing hurt, wrongful restraint, intentional insult, criminal intimidation and cruelty towards the child. “GHMC must ensure there are playgrounds so such conflicts don’t arise,” said Achyuta Rao, of Balala Hakkula Sangham, who assisted Jayanth’s parents with the case.