Moral policing: Nine people in Uttar Pradesh held for assaulting a minor couple

Nine people have been arrested after they allegedly tied a minor couple to a pole and thrashed them for having an affair. The incident reportedly took place 10 days ago but the arrests were made on Thursday after a video of the incident went viral on social media.

The girl's family has also lodged a complaint against the boy. Superintendent of Police Rohit Singh Sajwan said, "Taking cognisance of the video, three cases have been registered at the Gughli police station in Maharajganj district. The first case is against the boy under the POCSO Act on the basis of a written complaint received from the girl's family. The boy has been taken into custody by the police."

The second case is against those who had tied the couple and thrashed them while the third one has been registered Section 228(A) of the IPC (disclosure of identity of the victim of certain offences) against a social media account that circulated the video, the SP said.

Those arrested for assaulting the couple have been identified as Bholu Prajapati, Pawan Prajapati, Sahilesh Yadav, Ajit, Mohit, Vishwamitra, Manjeet Yadav, Phoolbadan Yadav and Avadhesh Prajapati, the police said.