Kannur: On Thursday night, actor and theatre director Santhosh Keezhattoor received a phone call from his teenage son that he was unprepared for. "In his 17 years, I have never heard him cry like that," said Santhosh. "My son said they were beating him with helmets and asked me to come and rescue him."

Earlier that evening, the boys -- Yadusanth, Nived, Arjun, and Rishid -- had gone to attend the birthday party of their friend Vaishak, whose house is near Chinmaya Vidyalaya in Taliparamba, their school for the past 12 years.

Santhosh and his elder brother reached the school road in less than five minutes. What they saw left them shaken. "Yadusanth was shirtless and bleeding from his nose. There were bruises around his eyes. His three friends were also injured, and all stood trembling with fear in the middle of a mob, mostly RSS-BJP workers," said Santhosh. It was sheer hooliganism, not a political attack -- but the assailants belonged to the party, he told Onmanorama. "An eyewitness who saw the mob attack said they surrounded and attacked the boys like street dogs."

Santhosh said the mob thrashed the boys for allegedly throwing stones at a flex board placed by the school to felicitate Class X toppers. "That didn't make sense. I checked the flex today -- there isn't a scratch on it," he said.

The Taliparamba police registered an FIR after taking Yadusanth's statement from the Taliparamba Cooperative Hospital on Friday morning. The FIR names Patta Madathil Mahesh, who allegedly hit the boys with a helmet, and seven other "known persons". The charges include causing hurt using dangerous weapons, criminal intimidation, wrongful restraint, rioting, and common intention under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.

When contacted, Taliparamba police said the investigation was on and they had not yet arrested anyone. Santhosh said he has named six accused: Santhosh, Prajeesh, Sreekanth, Mahesh, Madathil Vallappil Shiju, and Akshay K P.

How partygoers ended up in hospital
After the birthday celebration at Vaishak’s house, the four boys stepped out around 9.30 pm to leave. But they received a call from another friend asking them to wait. They stood in a nearby shop's verandah. To pass the time, one of them casually tossed a few stones. One stone apparently hit a nearby school flex board. According to the boys, this trivial act set off a violent chain of events.

Two men from the Vivekananda Vayanashala -- a reading room where RSS-BJP supporters frequently gather -- came out and demanded to know who had thrown the stone at the flex. "Without waiting for an answer, they started assaulting the boys with their hands and helmets," said Santhosh. The two reportedly called in more men.

When Santhosh tried to take the boys to the hospital, he said the mob blocked them again. Even when the beat patrol police arrived, Santhosh said the sub-inspector turned against the boys, treating them as the troublemakers.

Santhosh Keezhattoor, who was recently seen in movies such as Pada, CBI 5: The Brain, and Garudan, had conducted a theatre workshop at the same Chinmaya School just two days before the incident -- a programme attended by students from across the state and the District Collector. "My son helped coordinate that event. He scored 85% in his Plus Two. Why would he vandalise a school which gave him so much?”

The actor says he will not rest until those responsible are held accountable. "Children must have the freedom to walk outside at night without fear. Today it's my son. Tomorrow, it could be yours," he said.