Enraged over speaking to girl of different caste, 17-yr-old boy kidnapped for 4 hours

Lokmat News Network

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar:

A shocking incident occurred on Wednesday evening when a 17-year-old NEET aspirant was abducted by a gang of 8–9 youths in front of Prozone Mall because they could not tolerate him talking with a girl from a different religion at his tuition class. The boy was kept in custody for nearly four hours, taken to the isolated area of Padegaon, where he was beaten with kicks, punches, and belts, threatened with death, and later released. The incident took place between 5.30 pm and 9.30 pm on Wednesday.

The 17-year-old boy, originally from Jalna district, is currently staying in the city to prepare for NEET. He attends a private tuition class in the Akashwani area. On August 26, around 1.30 pm, he went to Prozone Mall with a friend and two girl classmates. After spending time inside the mall until about 5 pm, they stepped out. While he was taking out his two-wheeler, suddenly two men arrived on a sports bike and stopped him.

One of them seized his two-wheeler, made the boy sit behind, and himself started riding it. Before the boy could understand what was happening, he was taken towards Pyramid Chowk in N-1. Soon after, a group of 7–8 more youths surrounded his two-wheeler and together forced him into the forest area of Padegaon.

Why do you talk to girls?

Referring to the two girls who were with him in the mall, the gang threatened the boy, asking: “Why do you talk to those girls? What’s going on between you?” They then assaulted him in the Padegaon forest with kicks, punches, and belts. Around 9 pm, when the police at MIDC Cidco station came to know about the boy’s abduction, the gang brought him back and released him near Jalna Road. The boy then managed to reach Pyramid Chowk.

Death threats, surveillance on friends

While releasing him, the abductors warned the boy that if he lodged a complaint with the police, they would kill him. The police suspect that the gang seemed to be aware of every development, whether the boy had complained to the police or whether the police had begun searching for him. It is also suspected that some of their associates were keeping watch on the boy’s friends. Assistant Police Inspector (API) Lakhansingh Pachlore of MIDC Cidco Police Station is investigating the case, while two crime branch teams have also been deployed to trace the accused.