A 13-year-old Muslim boy in Muzaffarnagar, Uttar Pradesh, lost vision in his left eye due to alleged police brutality while in detention after his announcement at a local mosque “hurt local sentiments”.
The family lodged complaints with the district authorities, National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), and the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR), accusing the involved police officers of assault and intimidation, as he was threatened with police action if he complained.
The victim’s father owns a chicken shop which had been closed for the past ten days. Upon its reopening, his son went to the mosque to announce that the chicken would be sold at a lower price.
“My son went to the mosque near our shop and announced that our shop has reopened and that chicken would now be available at prices that are cheaper than usual at Rs 140 per kg due to lesser demand during Navratri,” the victim’s father was quoted by The Indian Express.
The announcement received complaints, acting on which, a police van patrolling the village picked the teen from the streets.
“We were informed (of the incident) by neighbours who saw him being taken away,” his father claimed.
The boy is reportedly seen being taken away by the police in a nearby CCTV footage.
The father stated that upon arriving at the police outpost, he found his son behind bars with both feet bound.
“Police told us it was a small issue and asked us to return in the afternoon. When I came back, they said I had been fined under Section 173 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS). My son had bruises all over his body and said he could no longer see properly,” he alleged.
Section 173 of BNSS deals with the mandatory recording of information about serious crimes. The police claimed to have fined him to maintain peace in the area.
Moreover, the father also claimed that the police charged him with owning a country-made pistol, a picture of which was found in the boy’s phone.
“It was just a picture he had saved from the Internet. We don’t own any pistols. But I was fined for possessing one,” he stated.
His son reportedly accepted the accusation after being pressured during a police questioning session that was videotaped.
“Later, my son said he had been beaten and videographed until he agreed to their version,” the father said.
His family took him to a local health centre where medical reports indicated the boy had lost sight in one eye because of “trauma caused an hour ago”. He has since been transferred to a hospital in Meerut for specialised surgery.
Meanwhile, Muzaffarnagar police have stated X, clarifying that the victim had been suffering an eye injury for the past five years and that he was “safely” returned back home.
“The boy who made the announcement was called for a discussion with his family members, and after the discussion, he was safely handed over to the family members who accompanied him. The boy has been receiving treatment for his eye for the past five years. The allegations of assault and other charges made against the police are completely false and baseless,” the statement read.
| 
