Kochi: A teenaged boy, who was taken into custody by the police recently for brutally assaulting another boy at Kalamassery in Ernakulam district, died on Monday.
Nikhil Paul (17) was found hanging at his home at the Glass Colony of Kalamassery. Though he was rushed to a private hospital, his life could not be saved.
The boy took the extreme step even as the Child Welfare Committee was scheduled to record his statement in connection with the assault incident.
The police had recently detained seven people, six of them minors, for assaulting a Plus-Two student near the colony. The police had let the minors off after summoning their parents to the station. Akhil Varghese (19), a senior member of the group, was arrested and then released on bail.
Nikhil was reportedly under extreme pressure after a video of the assault went viral on social media, leading to the police intervention.
The student who was at the receiving end of the attack was taken by the gang to a vacant house on the banks of a river and forced to use drugs. When he refused to take it, he was beaten up. The gang also compelled him to dance.
He had earned their wrath for threatening to tell their families over their marijuana addiction.
The assault incident became known to the outside world when visuals of the student being beaten went viral on social media. The visuals were recorded by one of the gang members himself on his mobile phone.
The student who was beaten was admitted to a hospital. He has not recovered fully and is unable to walk.
A case has been registered under the Juvenile Justice Act.
