PALAKKAD (Kerala): A 17-year-old Dalit boy was tied to a tree and brutally beaten up by three members of a family for allegedly stealing cash and mango from their shop near Kozhinjampara in the district.
According to an officer at Kozhinjampara police station, the incident occurred on May 21, but the complaint was lodged by the Dalit victim on Thursday as he was hospitalized after the brutal beating.
"A case under relevant sections of the IPC and the SC/ST Act would be registered against the three accused -- a couple and their minor son. The couple is in our custody. Their son was sent home as he is a juvenile. They will be formally arrested tomorrow and produced before a court," the officer told PTI.
The officer said that while the accused alleged that the boy stole thousands in cash and other materials from their shop, they have not made a complaint to that effect.
"They (accused) tied up and beat the boy to their heart's content and no one there intervened to stop them or call the police as everyone was scared of them. They were very influential. Some people took videos of the incident," he said.
Visuals of the boy being beaten were shown on Malayalam news channels. Police said the boy was beaten all over from head to toe and suffered serious injuries.
"It is fortunate he is alive," the officer said.
There have been other similar incidents reported from Kerala in the past few years.
Madhu, a tribal, was tied up and beaten to death by a mob back in 2018 in the Attappady area of Palakkad for allegedly stealing food.
More recently, on May 13, a group in Malappuram had beaten to death a 36-year-old man hailing from Bihar suspecting him of trying to commit theft.
Police had said that Bihar native Rajesh Manji was lynched by locals who caught him after he fell from the sunshade of a house near Kondotty in Malappuram district.