A disturbing video of a minor girl brutally thrashed, by her family members, allegedly for eloping with a man from her village is from Gujarat. BOOM spoke to local police who confirmed that the incident is from Chhota Udepur district in Gujarat and that an investigation is underway.
In the viral video, a man is seen holding both the hands of the girl, while two other men thrash her repeatedly even hitting her with a stick. They are surrounded by several men who make no attempt to stop or rescue the young girl. One can also hear a local dialect of Gujarati being spoken by the men beating the teenager.
MS Bhabhor, Superitendent of Police, Chhota Udepur district told BOOM that the victim is a 16-year-old woman, a resident of Rangpur village in the district.
BOOM has decided not to include the video in the article due to its graphic nature.
Viral on social media
The 45 seconds viral clip was shared on social with several users condemning the incident and calling for swift action against the accused. Below are the screenshots of the posts.
We found local news reports which stated that the incident was from Chhota Udepur district in Gujarat and that the girl belongs to a tribal family. The reports further said that the teenager was beaten in public by her family members for allegedly eloping with a man from the village.
BOOM contacted SP of Chhota Udepur, Bhabhor who confirmed that the incident had occurred in Rangpur, a village in the district, bordering Madhya Pradesh. Bhabhor said that the incident is from earlier in the week and that an investigation was initiated after the video of the incident went viral.
"Our investigation revealed that the girl being beaten in the video is a 16-year-old minor. She belongs to a tribal family from Rangpur village and those seen assaulting her are her family members," he said. Bhabhor added that, "the girl was allegedly beaten up by in public for eloping with another man from the same village."
Bhabhor said that arrests are yet to be made but the process of filing an FIR has begun to book the accused under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code. "We are identifying and filing an FIR against the family members who were assaulting the girl."
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