Four minors have been booked for allegedly sodomising a 13-year-old boy in Hyderabad, filming the act and blackmailing him, police said on Monday.
The accused, who are absconding, are said to be in the age group of 16-17 years.
Though the ordeal of the victim – who cannot be named for legal reasons – began around two months ago, the incident came to light when his father lodged a complaint with Chaderghat police.
In 2015, India made sweeping changes to its laws governing juvenile delinquents, enabling prosecution of minors between 16 to 18 years as adults in case of serious crimes like rape and murder.
G Sattaiah, the Chaderghat inspector of police, said the victim from the Old Malakpet area was allegedly lured into “unnatural sex” by the four teenagers, also from the same locality.
The accused started to extort him by threatening to upload the videos and pictures on social media and also circulate it among his school mates and relatives.
A couple of days ago, when the victim could not give them money, they sent a video clip to his school principal.
“Without verifying the facts, the school principal suspended him and it was then the boy informed us as to what had happened. He had been in a state of depression for the last two months,” the boy’s father said.
Sattaiah said the victim was “scared and he used to yield to them whenever they called him”.
“They used to demand Rs 500 or Rs 1,000 from him, threatening that if he did not bring money, they would circulate the video clippings on the social media,” the official added.
The boy’s father has requested the school management to revoke the suspension.
The four accused have been slapped with charges under the Indian Penal Code and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO).
Source: HindustanTimes