Jhapa, January 29

It has been learnt that police in Jhapa spirited away and thrashed a boy in custody without any reason.

According to family sources, ninth-grader Sandip Prasai, aged 14, was taken away from his home on Thursday night and thrashed severely in police custody at the Area Police Office of Birtamod.

The victim is now undergoing treatment in intensive care unit at B&C Hospital, Birtamod.

According to the victim’s kin, the teenager was detained by the police while he had gone out of home in order to see a quarrel between two locals in Birtamod Municipality-2 on Thursday night. “It was around 9:00pm when he had gone out just to see what was happening in the neighbourhood, but police in the civvies picked him up and took him away to the police station on a bike taking him for a thief,” lamented the victim’s family, adding they had found him near their house in injured condition at around 11:00pm.

It is learnt that police constables Sujan Shrestha and Shyamdev Yadav had thrashed the boy in  custody. The victims also bemoaned the apathy of Assistant Sub-inspector Bhim Bahadur Gautam, in-charge at the community police beat, to register their complaint.

On Friday, the family had filed a complaint at the Area Police Office. “Acting on the complaint, we have taken the two policemen concerned in custody and formed a probe committee to investigate,” said DSP Krishna Koirala.

“As the committee has prepared and sent the report to the DPO, the policemen will face action as per the police regulation,” said the DSP.