Kochi: Mob assaults 3 youths, tonsures heads over alleged narcotics links
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Kochi: A shocking case of alleged mob justice has emerged from Kerala's Perumbavoor, where three young men were brutally assaulted, forced to kneel and had their heads tonsured after a group of local residents accused them of involvement in the narcotics trade.
The incident occurred around 4.30 p.m. on Wednesday near Bhai Colony in Perumbavoor and has sparked widespread outrage over vigilante groups taking the law into their own hands.
The victims, all residents of Manjappetty in nearby Vazhakulam, were allegedly subjected to physical assault and public humiliation without any intervention from law enforcement.
According to police, the three youths were intercepted by a group of local residents who alleged that they had come to the area either to sell or purchase ganja.
Instead of informing the police, the group allegedly detained the youths and forcibly took them to a nearby room.
The victims were reportedly forced to kneel before being physically assaulted.
Investigators said the assailants then allegedly summoned a barber from a nearby shop and compelled him to shave the heads of all three youths in what is being treated as a deliberate act of public humiliation.
Following the incident, the victims approached the Perumbavoor Police and lodged a complaint detailing the assault.
Based on the complaint, police registered a First Information Report (FIR) against six identified persons, while efforts are under way to identify and arrest all those involved in the attack.
Police have launched a detailed investigation to reconstruct the sequence of events and determine the role of each accused.
Investigators are also examining why the three complainants had visited the locality and whether there was any factual basis for the allegations made against them.
However, police sources emphasised that even if the youths had been in the area in connection with a narcotics transaction, it could not justify vigilante violence or public humiliation.
Officials reiterated that allegations of criminal activity must be reported to the police and dealt with strictly in accordance with the law, and not through acts of mob justice.
With IANS inputs