Lawyer kidnaps teen for drinking soda with his daughter in UP

Kanpur: A lawyer and his associates kidnapped a 17-year-old boy and brutally tortured in Bithoor of Uttar Pradesh's Kanpur district, the police said.

The youth was spotted sipping soft drinks with one of his classmates by her father, a lawyer by profession.

The boy was kidnapped and taken to the farmhouse owned by the key accused, from where he was later rescued when the lawyer and his men were allegedly about to kill him, Kalyanpur Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Abhishek Pandey said.

Both minors are pursuing a Bachelor's degree in pharmacy at a college in Bainkuthpur.

The boy was getting treated at the intensive care unit of a hospital, the ACP added.

While the police have registered a case of kidnapping and attempted murder against lawyer Braj Narain Nishad, the girl's father, his brother Tej Narain and several unidentified persons, a group of lawyers, protesting police action, staged a demonstration claiming that the boy was caught teasing Braj Narain's daughter, a claim refuted by the police.

Buckling under the pressure of lawyers, a case of molestation under Section 354 of the IPC and Section 7/8 of the POCSO Act was also registered against the boy.

Following the arrests of the lawyer and his brother late on Saturday evening, lawyers abstained from work.

The Pradeshik Armed Constabulary personnel were deployed in Bithoor and on local court premises as the police were about to launch further proceedings against the two.

Allegedly, the lawyer, his brother and others brutally assaulted the teenager and subjected him to waterboarding multiple times.

The boy's family, upon learning about their son when the lawyer threatened to kill him, contacted Bithoor police, which rescued him.

IANS with edits