Two held for assaulting students at Palakkad for sitting together

Representational image. File Photo.

Palakkad: Two have been arrested in connection with a moral policing incident, for allegedly beating up and abusing school children, including girls, who were waiting at a bus stop here on Friday evening.

Siddiq (50) and Hareesh (28) are the arrested. The police said that a case has been registered against them and six unidentified persons under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) including 341 (wrongful restraint), 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 324 (Voluntarily causing hurt by dangerous weapons or means), and 294 B (using obscene words in or near any public place).

Earlier, a student had explained to the media, "A group of students, including boys and girls waiting at the bus stop. Our principal-in-charge was also with us. Suddenly, a person walked in and abused a girl of our group. When we questioned him, other locals joined him and they started beating us. This isn't the first incident of the sort, and the local people have been resorting to moral policing whenever they see boys and girls together."

Protesting against the incident, the Students' Federation of India (SFI), the students' wing of the CPI(M), marched to the bus stop where they sat and demanded action against the culprits.

The mother of a boy, who was assaulted, told the media that the attackers after beating up the children forced them onto a bus and asked them to leave the place.

"I got a call from my son around 5.30 pm saying a few people attacked them while waiting at the bus stop. When I asked, my son said that he had pain on his chest and body. Who gave them the authority to assault the children?" she asked.

Police said they have taken the statement of the students and were examining the CCTV visuals of the nearby shops to identify the rest of the culprits. 

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