Bhubaneswar: A 35-year-old man was arrested in Odisha’s Jagatsinghpur district on Wednesday after a video of an 11-year-old boy being beaten and forced to drink liquor at an under-construction house at Banapat village went viral on social media.
Another accused, aged 45, is on the run.
The shocking incident took place nearly a month back when the minor was gone to answer nature’s call and came to light after his father Jagabandhu Swain lodged a complaint with Kujang police on Tuesday.
In his complaint, Jagabandhu said he came across the video, showing his son, a Class VII student, being forced to drink alcohol by two villagers, Manoranjan Samantray and Susant Das, while scrolling through his social media feed on mobile phone. When the boy refused, they allegedly beat him after locking him inside the under-construction house of Susant. They also threatened to kill the boy if he reported the incident.
Following the complaint, police verified the video clip and confirmed that the boy was coerced into drinking alcohol and beaten when he resisted. While Samantray has been arrested under various sections of BNS and Section 77 of Juvenile Justice Act, 2015, efforts are underway to nab the other accused, Kujang police station IIC Banshidhar Pradhan.