A 17-year-old from Ernakulam reportedly died by suicide, two days after he was taken into custody by police officials. Nikhil Paul was found dead on Monday and the teen’s friends are now alleging he was harassed by officials at Kalamassery police station and took his own life due to emotional trauma.
Nikhil, a resident of Glass Factory colony in Kalamassery, was arrested by police on Saturday, along with three other teens for allegedly assaulting another 17-year-old boy. The police had taken the four into custody after a video of the assault was shared on social media.
In the video, a group of boys can be seen brutally thrashing and harassing another boy, and forcing him to dance. The teen was admitted to hospital following the attack on Friday. According to police, the group had alleged there were issues between the boy and one of their sisters. It was also alleged that the boy had told her parents that her brother had been using drugs.
While police state that four of them were taken into custody, three of them were below 18 so a First Information Report (FIR) was only registered against one 18-year-old in the group. The other three were let off with their parents. Nikhil Paul was one among the boys who were released by the police. But on Monday morning, he was discovered dead in his house.
The teens who were also caught by the police along with Nikhil are now alleging they were tortured at the police station. One alleged that the police had thrashed them all while in custody.
“The police took us to a room inside the station and we were beaten black and blue. After beating us, they (police officials) even took batons and started beating the soles of our feet. Following this, when we finally thought the assault was over, we were taken out of the room. Then, other police officials who came to the station started thrashing us one after the other. After this, we were again taken to that room and were beaten again,” the boy, who was in custody with deceased Nikhil, told Mathrubhumi News.
He also alleged that in between beating them, police officials kept threatening them and said they will be thrashed if they are seen outside again, or if this is revealed to anyone, the boy alleged.
He also said that Nikhil who was beaten the most. “Police left us saying they won’t interfere if we are attacked. That is why he died,” the boy alleged.
He also added they were scared to seek treatment at a hospital initially. “We were told that we’ll be finished if we get out of our houses. The police even threatened us saying they will thrash our parents. We were scared. It was only when I couldn’t even lie down, I went to the hospital,” the boy added.
Watch video of the boy's statement
Reacting to the media, one of the boy’s relatives said a doctor at Ernakulam General Hospital had confirmed that he had been badly beaten.
Meanwhile, speaking to TNM, Kalamassery station house officer PR Santhosh denied all the allegations raised against the police. “Whatever the allegations are, it is untrue,” he said.
Officials of the Child Line and Child Welfare Committee in Ernakulam also told TNM that they haven’t yet received information about the incident.
“The boy who died and the others who have now raised allegations are ‘children in conflict with the law.’ I have directed Thrikkakara Assistant Commissioner of Police to inquire and submit a report on the issue,” Bitty Joseph, Chairperson of CWC in Ernakulam, told TNM.
ChildLine officials also stated that they had earlier spoken to the parents of two of the boys who were taken in police custody, but had not raised any complaints. The boy who reacted to Mathrubhumi News alleged that he had not raised complaints, fearing police retaliation.
If you are aware of anyone facing mental health issues or feeling suicidal, please provide help. Here are some helpline numbers.
Tamil Nadu:
State health department suicide helpline number - 104
Sneha Suicide Prevention Centre - 044-24640050 (listed as the sole suicide prevention helpline in TN
Andhra Pradesh:
Life Suicide Prevention Helpline No.78930-78930
Roshni Helpline 1: 9166202000 Helpline 2: 9127848584
Karnataka:
Sahai: 24-hour helpline numbers: 080- 65000111, 080-65000222
Kerala:
Maithri helpline - 0484-2540530
Chaithram helpline: 0484-2361161
Both are 24-hour helpline numbers.
Telangana:
Telangana government suicide prevention toll-free no: 104
Roshni- 040-66202000, 6620200SEVA- 09441778290, 040 - 27504682 (between 9 AM and 7 PM)