The police in Mangaluru said on Friday, July 1, that the 13-year-old boy who had alleged that he was assaulted on his way home from a madrasa had faked the story to get attention at home. The boy had alleged that he was attacked by two masked men when he was headed home from his madrasa, which was around 300 metres away from his residence. Visuals of the boy’s torn clothes had also emerged on social media. A complaint had been registered with the Suratkal Police Station by the boy’s parents, and the police had registered an FIR and launched a probe.
However, after an investigation and interrogation of the boy, it was revealed that the boy was not attacked at all. The boy told the police that he had cooked up the story in a desperate attempt to get attention from his parents.
Speaking to TNM, Mangaluru police commissioner Shashi Kumar said that the boy’s version to the police corroborates the evidence they had in hand. He added that an FIR was filed in connection with the incident, but with the facts coming to the fore, the FIR will be de-registered.
“We interrogated the boy and he disclosed that he did not have any friends, his family was poor, nobody was giving him any attention, and so he wanted to grab some attention. Therefore, he staged the attack. Other evidence that we accessed was also in line with what the boy had narrated. He was taken to the Child Welfare Committee and also to the doctor for consultancy and counselling. His parents too have been counselled, as he had developed some suicidal tendencies as well at a tender age. We had filed an FIR in connection with the case, but it will now be de-recorded,” the Mangaluru police commissioner said.