Four persons of one family have been arrested for thrashing a youth, tonsuring his head, and forcing him to wear a garland of shoes in Uttar Pradesh's Meerut. The youth, who belongs to Rajasthan, was allegedly accused of eve-teasing. The incident took place on Wednesday, March 29, in the Mangatpuram region under the Brahampuri police station, and came to light after a purported video of the man being thrashed went viral on social media. The victim, identified as Lakhan Kumar, is a resident of the Jaunpura village in Rajasthan and had been staying with his sister and brother-in-law in Meerut for the last few months.

"My sister and brother-in-law had enmity with a few locals who caught me on March 22, when I had gone to a nearby market. They thrashed me, shaved my head, and forced me to wear a garland made of slippers," Lakhan Kumar stated in the FIR. He alleged that the police were initially reluctant to register a case in the matter. "The police failed to register a complaint in the matter. Later, I met the Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Rohit Singh Sajwan and showed him the video of the incident following which he directed the Brahmpuri police station in charge to lodge an FIR in the matter and arrest the accused immediately," he said.

Vishnu Kaushik, SHO (Brahmpuri), said, "Six persons, belonging to the same family, have been booked, of which four have been arrested so far and the remaining two will be nabbed soon. During the probe, the arrested accused alleged that Kumar had molested the sister of one of the accused persons. However, Kumar denied the allegation and said that they were making baseless allegations to evade punishment. We are trying to ascertain the actual reason behind the incident. Further probe is underway."