One held for ‘moral policing’ attack on school student in Kerala

Thiruvananthapuram: The Kerala Child Rights Commission has registered a case on its own,pertaining to an alleged moral policing incident in which a 15-year-old student was beaten up in public for walking with his girl classmate.

An autorickshaw driver has been arrested in this connection, police said. The CCTV footage of the shocking incident in Kannur district was aired by local television channels on Tuesday, following which the State Commission for Protection of Child Rights intervened into the matter.

The video purportedly showed Jineesh, the driver, slapping the 10th standard student and beating him repeatedly in Panoor. Panel Chairman, K V Manoj Kumar took action based on the visuals, an official statement said here.

Quoting the statement of his father, the panel said the boy was beaten up for walking along with his female classmate when they were returning home after taking up the Secondary School Leaving Certificate (SSLC) model exam at their school.

The father also alleged that though they had approached the police, they did not show any seriousness and tried for a compromise settlement, the statement added. However, police rejected the charges and said a case was registered and the driver arrested.

“The case was registered and his arrest was recorded. IPC 341 and 323 were charged against the accused,” a senior official said.