Kannur: Taliparamba police have arrested three men who were allegedly part of a mob that assaulted four 17-year-old boys, including the son of Malayalam actor and theatre director Santhosh Keezhattoor, on Wednesday night.

The arrested men have been identified as K Prajeesh, K Santhosh, and P Sreekanth, all residents of Trichambaram.

Police said they were booked under charges of causing hurt using dangerous weapons, criminal intimidation, wrongful restraint, rioting, and common intention under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), which carries a maximum punishment of three years.

The FIR had named one Patta Madathil Mahesh, who allegedly hit the boys with a helmet. He has not yet been arrested. In addition to these four, the actor said the complaint also named two more individuals, Madathil Vallappil Shiju and Akshay K P. He alleged that all the accused were RSS-BJP workers.

Santhosh's son Yadusanth and his friends Nived, Arjun, and Rishid were allegedly beaten with a helmet and bare hands by a mob near Chinmaya Vidyalaya at Trichambaram in Taliparamba. According to the complaint filed by Yadusanth, the boys were waiting for a friend near the school around 9.30 pm on Wednesday when the incident occurred. While waiting, one of them aimlessly tossed a few stones, one of which accidentally struck a flex board put up by the school to felicitate Class X toppers.

Two men from the nearby Vivekananda Vayanashala, a reading room known to be frequented by RSS-BJP supporters, came out and demanded to know who had thrown the stone. Before the boys could respond, the two men allegedly assaulted them with a helmet and then called in more people.

Around 10.30 pm, Yadusanth called his father, asking to be rescued from the mob. When the actor reached the spot, he found his son shirtless, bleeding from the nose, and with bruises around his eyes. The other three boys were also injured. Santhosh said he managed to rescue the boys and take them to the hospital, despite strong resistance from the mob.

Taliparamba police said some of the men allegedly involved in the assault claimed they too were attacked by the boys. "But we have not registered a case based on their complaint," an officer said.