Mumbai: 13-year-old boy sexually assaulted for 5 months; 6 underage boys booked

In a horrific case of sexual assault and bullying by peers at its lowest, the Vanrai police on Tuesday booked six minor boys for allegedly sexually assaulting a 13-year-old boy, recording the acts on camera and circulating the clips on social media over the last five months.

According to the Vanrai police, the matter came to light after the victim’s family members approached the police on Monday night.

“They received a video on WhatsApp, where the boy was being assaulted and the background voice had other boys laughing. The video was first seen by the victim's uncle, after which the victim was asked about it,” said an officer with the Vanrai police.

The police subsequently started investigating and found that all the accused lived near the victim’s house and that they had known each other for a long time. The victim revealed that he had been assaulted over a period of five months, from March to July this year, but was too scared to confide in anyone, including his parents and relatives.

According to the police, all the accused – falling between 15 to 17 years of age – have been not only assaulting the boy but also filming the criminal act. The victim was sexually assaulted at various locations, mostly at the houses of the accused, the police said.

Senior police inspector Rajesh Nandimath, Vanrai police station said, "The accused were circulating these videos on WhatsApp and other social media platforms ‘for fun’, without understanding the consequences of such an act. After the victim’s family filed an FIR, all the boys were booked and are currently at the juvenile detention center in Dongri. We are in the process of finding out out where else they have circulated the videos."

The police have seized several electronic devices from the accused, who have been charged under the Indian Penal Code, the Information Technology Act and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act.