Karnataka Police on Thursday said it has lodged a case under the POCSO Act against five persons for brutally torturing a class 9 student after he refused to have sex with the accused.

According to the police, the incident took place five months ago inside a hostel of a residential school in Tumakaru district.

The accused persons include three class 9 and 10 students, as well as the hostel warden and the school principal.

The police said the accused burnt the victim with cigarettes, made cuts on his body with a blade and attacked him with an iron rod for his refusal to indulge in sexual activities.

After he was attacked with the iron rod, he went unconscious. He was taken to Bengaluru hospital and then shifted to the National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro-Sciences (NIMHANS) for over a month.

Although the incident occurerd five months ago, the parents of the victim only lodged a complaint after he was discharged from the hospital. The case has been registered with Tumakuru Women’s Police station

Meanwhile, the Principal and warden have rejected the allegations.

The parents alleged that the principal,, did not bother to look into the matter even after it was escalated.

The police have made the hostel warden as the prime accused in the case and the principal as the second accused for not initiating action despite the complaint by parents.

The investigation is on. 

(IANS/SR)