3 children thrashed in MP’s Ratlam, forced to chant Jai Shri Ram: Police
Police later said two teenagers, also minors, have been detained in connection with the assault
BHOPAL: A first information report (FIR) has been registered against an unidentified person for repeatedly slapping three children including a six-year-old in Madhya Pradesh’s Ratlam district, and asking them to chant ‘Jai Shri Ram’.
Police said the incident is reported to have taken place last month but came to light after a video clip of the assault recently turned up on social media. The video was recorded by an associate of the person hitting the boys.
On Thursday, relatives of the three boys and other community members reached Manak Chowk police station with the children to demand that the police file an FIR and take action against the accused.
Ratlam additional superintendent of police (Addl SP) Rakesh Khaka said, “A video related to the beating of children has gone viral. The video is said to be about a month old. In this regard, the cyber team has been asked to investigate the matter and search for the accused.”
Police later said two teenagers, also minors, have been detained in this connection.
Police said the unidentified accused had been booked for offences relating to committing an obscene act, causing hurt, wrongful confinement, criminal intimidation and promotion of enmity, hatred and disharmony between groups based on religion.
HT cannot verify the authenticity of the video clip.
Police said the three victims are aged 13, 11 and 6, and the incident seems to have been triggered by the accused admonishing them about smoking. In the video, the man slaps the boys, asking if they will smoke. One of the boys then cries out in pain, saying ‘Allah’.
“What did you say, Allah?” the person says, as he slaps him again, and again. The beating continues and stops sometime after the boys switch to chanting ‘Jai Shri Ram’.
“It was a very disturbing video and children were mercilessly thrashed,” said Imran Khan, a local social worker, adding that the youngest child was an orphan, who lived with his grandparents.