Kolkata: A teenager was beaten up by a local fruit seller after he suspected him to be a thief.
The incident took place near Chada Bazar area Bongaon on late Monday evening. The victim has been identified as Alam Mondal. He has received serious injuries in the incident and is fighting for his life at a nearby hospital. The victim is a class VII student from a local school
in Bongaon.
It triggered tension among locals. Some have, however, raised questions on why the boy was badly beaten up by a local shop owner instead of handing him over to the police. The accused during police interrogation claimed that he managed to catch the boy while stealing money from the shop.
The family members of the victim came to know that one Nani Sarkar, a fruit seller by profession, was badly beating up the victim and rushed to the spot. They found their child lying on the ground and bleeding from various parts of his body. When the family members wanted to know from Nani as to why he had beaten him up that badly, the accused threatened the family members with
dire consequences.
The accused alleged that the boy was trying to steal money from his shop. He also told police he was away from his shop in the evening when the accused attempted to steal money from the cash box. He caught hold of the boy and beat him up badly. The victim had received injuries on various parts of his body. None of the locals came to his rescue till the matter was reported to his family members. Some police personnel rushed to the spot and freed him from the clutches of the businessmen. The victim was later taken to a hospital by police personnel.
Police have started a probe in this regard and are interrogating the locals. The patient is stated to be in a serious condition.