13-year-old boy tied to tree, beaten over litchi theft suspicion in Uttarakhand

RUDRAPUR: A 13-year-old boy was allegedly tied to a tree and beaten unconscious on suspicion of plucking litchis from an orchard in the Bigwara area of Rudrapur, Udham Singh Nagar district, police said on Saturday.Based on a written complaint by the boy's father, Kamaljeet Singh, police have registered a case against Mintu Singh. "An FIR was lodged on Saturday, and further investigation is underway," said Jitendra Kumar, in-charge of the Bagwara police outpost. The boy's mother, Sukhwinder Kaur, said that her son — a Class 7 student — was walking his pet dog on Wednesday afternoon when he wandered near a nearby orchard owned by Mintu. "He caught my son, accused him of stealing litchis, tied him to a tree with a rope and thrashed him mercilessly until he passed out," she told the police.Kaur said she rushed to the spot after hearing about the incident and found her son unconscious. When she tried to help him, Mintu allegedly pushed her away. She then carried her injured child to the Bagwara police outpost, from where he was taken to a private hospital with police assistance.The boy remained hospitalised for two days and is still unable to stand. "Even if my child had done something wrong, he should have informed us. Such cruelty is unacceptable," Kaur said.Meanwhile, former district child welfare committee chairperson Rajneesh Batra condemned the incident and called for strict action against the accused."The matter is under consideration. Action has been taken under a non-cognisable offence, and further steps will depend on court directions," said city police CO Prashant Singh.