A boy, who was recently taken into custody by the police for assaulting a 17-year-old student at Kalamassery in Ernakulam district, was found hanging at his home at the Glass Factory Colony of Kalamassery today. The deceased was identified as Nikhil Paul (17). He was rushed to the hospital, but his life could not be saved.
In connection with the assault case, the Child Welfare Committee was scheduled to record his statement. It is believed that Nikhil took the extreme step as he was under pressure after the video of the assault went viral, leading to the police investigation.
Meanwhile, the relatives of the deceased claim that he was very depressed about being beaten by the police. They further allege that the child had contacted childline for counseling but they did not respond positively.
Recently, a seven-member gang brutally assaulted a 17-year-old student at Kalamassery. The incident came to light when visuals of the assault went viral on social media. The student was beaten for revealing the boys' drug usage to their families. Following the incident, the police had arrested seven people of which six were minors. Police let the minors off after summoning their parents to the station. However, one of the senior members of the gang, Akhil Varghese (19) was arrested and later released on bail.
Two days after the incident, the student agreed to open up about his friends’ cruelty. Seven other boys beat the student on the top of a building. After severely punching and beating him, the gang even made the boy dance and stand on his knees. One of the boys captured the video and later released online.
