NEW DELHI : A 14-year-old boy, studying in Class 8 of an east Delhi school, was brutally thrashed by his schoolmates, a senior police officer said on Saturday. One of the accused even inserted a “wooden stick” in the private part of the victim, he added.
According to the officer, the accused juvenile was apprehended and produced before the Juvenile Justice Board.
The police said the incident was reported from a Noida hospital on April 2 when the boy was admitted to the hospital after he was allegedly thrashed by his classmates. “We received information from a hospital in Noida where the victim child was admitted after which an investigating officer was immediately dispatched to the hospital,” the officer said.
The victim narrated the incident before his parents and the police, alleging he was attacked by his classmates and one among them even inserted a wooden stick in his posterior.
The victim said he was involved in a fight with his classmate on March 13 and was assaulted by the accused five days later on March 18. Fearing reprisal, the victim did not share the incident with anyone.
However, his injuries, especially on his privates worsened and on March 20 he complained of stomach ache following which he was taken to a nearby doctor. When his condition did not improve, he was admitted to a hospital on March 28.
The medics operated the victim and informed family members that their child was subjected to assault on his private parts by insertion of some foreign object. When the boy gained consciousness, he revealed everything before the police and his parents.
The accused juvenile had allegedly threatened the victim for not disclosing the incident to anyone, the police added.
Based on the boy’s statement, the police registered an FIR under sections 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 341 (punishment for wrongful restraint), 377 (unnatural offenses), 506 (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code, and section 6 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.
The victim was counseled while the accused juvenile was immediately apprehended. Following the incident, the parents and relatives of the victim held protests outside the school on April 3 demanding punitive action against the accused juvenile. The family accused the school authorities of negligence and lack of cooperation as they were denied attendence with the school principal.
The police said that further investigation into the incident is underway.