Two minor boys were stripped and paraded with garlands of slippers for allegedly stealing a food item from a sweet shop, the police said today.
The shop owner and his two sons were arrested after the shocking incident that took place in Prem Nagar area of Ulhasnagar township on Saturday, they said.
According to the police, the act was filmed by one of the accused and uploaded on social media.
The children, aged 8 and 9 and hailing from different families, went to the neighbourhood shop where they picked up a packet of ‘chakli’ (a snack) without the owner’s permission and ate it. This angered the shop owner, Mehmood Pathan (69), the police said.
Mehmood, with help from his sons, caught hold of the kids and tonsured them. Not stopping at that, they allegedly stripped the minors, made them wear garlands of slippers and paraded them on the street as punishment, they added.
According to the police, the boys belonged to a backward community. Their parents, who reside in the same locality, later lodged a complaint with the Hill Line police.
Based on the complaint, Mehmood and his sons Irfan (26) and Salim (22) were arrested last night, the police said.
They were booked on charges of assault, defamation and voluntarily causing hurt, and under sections of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, they added.
(Feature image source: ANI)