A family of seven, including an 18-month-old infant, was confined by a local businessman in Agra for several hours and brutally tortured on suspicion of theft. The businessman had employed the sons at a water purifier plant and accused them of stealing jewellery.
The family alleged that their 12-year-old boy was forced to urinate on a heater to get electric shocks, burned with wax, punched in the face and kicked in the gut. No food or water was given to them.
The employer has been identified as Abrar. The boy’s brother Sonu, 20, went missing on Saturday, June 13. In an attempt to escape, he had jumped off the third floor of the employer’s building, where they had been confined.
Police rescued the family a day later when a member of the family, an eight-year-old boy, managed to escape and inform his relatives, who called the police.
Sonu was taken to a hospital, and an FIR was filed and four people were arrested on Monday, June 15.
The two boys were sons of a rickshaw puller named Nizam and worked at this plant in Sarai Khwaja area under Shahganj police jurisdiction.
‘He rained blows on me, kicked and punched me and gave electric shocks. He even burned me with melted wax. He kept asking about his jewellery that was stolen, but I had nothing to do with, the boy told The Times Of India.
A video of the boy has gone viral, where he can be seen showing his wounds on camera.
A family of 6 was confined over allegation of theft, & brutally tortured since Friday night by a local RO plant owner in Shahganj area of Agra. Two teenage members of the family were given electric shock, their skin was burned with cigarette butts, punched on face multiple times pic.twitter.com/77LGr7eOgv
— Arvind Chauhan (@arvindcTOI) June 15, 2020The father, Nizam, alleged that on Friday night, June 12, six other men had come to their house to ‘search’ it. He and his wife were asked to go to the employer’s house if they wanted to meet their son. When they went, their phones were snatched away and they were brutally thrashed.Sonu’s wife Ruksana also reached their 18-month-old child and eight-year-old brother-in-law, and she was also dragged into the room. The eight-year-old then managed to jump off the building and seek help. While the family was taken to the police station, no FIR was registered. ‘Police let Abrar and his men go with minor charges,’ alleged Nizam’s wife, Mubina.According to police, the FIR registration was delayed as the family was illiterate and could not write a complaint. However, the accused were booked under CrPC 151 and granted bail. ‘The family also wanted to get a medical done before an FIR was filed,’ said SHO Shahganj Satyendra Singh Raghav.The accused men have been booked under IPC sections 147 (riot), 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 324 (voluntarily causing hurt by dangerous weapons), 342 (punishment for wrongful confinement), 354 (assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty), 448 (punishment for house-trespass), 504 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of the peace) and 506 (punishment for criminal intimidation).
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