On 25th February (Wednesday), a father and his son were booked for moral policing, assault and caste-based insults of a 14-year-old Dalit boy near a railway track within the boundaries of Mangaluru South police station. The offenders have been identified as Steven Monteiro and his son Avil, and they have been detained.
The minor’s father filed a complaint stating that the incident took place when his son, who is in grade 9th, was chatting with a 10th class girl along the railway track at Babugudde after school at approximately 4:00 pm on 23rd February (Monday).
The two children were approached by the perpetrators, who then took a video with their cell phone, alleging public display of affection. They even used derogatory casteist slurs and threatened the victims. According to the complaint, the footage was later shared on social media. Steven claimed that the teenager was kissing the girl and began filming as well as snapping pictures of the pair as they attempted to escape.
The girl left the place after the confrontation, and the boy also tried to follow suit. However, he was prevented by Avil, who dragged him to the nearby road and demanded the girl’s home address. He used foul language, and the two accused attacked him. Monteiro also recorded while his son was assaulting the adolescent.
According to the complaint, Monteiro publicly intimidated and abused the youngster in relation to his Bakuda caste, which is classified as a scheduled caste. He even warned the boy against returning to the location and threatened to share the video and pictures on social media.
Monterio runs a laundry in the Shivanagar area and knew the boy’s father, who learned about the incident after the images and videos became viral on social media. Sections 126(2), 115(2), 352, 351(1), and 79 of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), along with section 3 (1)(r)(s) of the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, have been invoked against the accused.
