Kolkata Garfa Case: A shocking incident in Kolkata has raised concerns about social media abuse, as an 18-year-old boy was allegedly tied up, attacked and doused in petrol and set alight after a group of people attacked him and filmed the assault for social media.
The incident happened on October 27 and took place near to a pond in the Lenin Nagar area of Haltu in southern Kolkata. However, it gained more attention after a video of the incident went viral on social media on November 6.
Three adults have been arrested and two minors have been detained in connection to the case, police said on Friday. The main accused in the case is Arghya Saha.
The victim was attacked after he was stopped by a group of young men while walking home from work, police and media reported.
They forced the victim to sit on a cement bench and then played a game. The accused allegedly put a helmet on his head and tied him up with a blindfold.
The accused then began assaulting him by slapping him. They asked the victim to name them but after being slapped 10-12 times he was unable to. The victim began to feel uneasy and tried to take the helmet off.
One of the accused took some petrol from the storage box of their scooter and tried to make the victim drink it. He refused so they doused him in petrol.
They then lit a matchstick and threw it at him causing his clothes to catch fire. He managed to get away and took his clothes off. Locals rushed to help him and got him to hospital.
One of the worst parts about this incident is that the accused allegedly attacked the victim and filmed it as part of creating a social media reel.
Police believe the accused filmed the incident as part of creating a social media reel.
A video of the incident went viral on social media. It shows the accused taking petrol from the scooter and dousing the victim in petrol. His clothes then catch fire.
Police are investigating the footage to find out what happened and who did what. During the investigation, it has been revealed that the accused also told the victim to say to police that he willingly took part in creating a reel and that he wasn’t attacked.
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While police investigate the social media reel aspect of the case, the family of the victim believe there was a loan issue.
The teenager had borrowed Rs 500 from one of the accused around six months ago, the family said. They claim they had paid back the money however the accused were still upset and had been harassing the victim.
It remains to be seen whether this was a case of trying to create a viral video online or if there was an underlying issue between the two parties.
Police are investigating the claims made by the family. They are also looking into whether the social media motive was the reason behind the assault. This shouldn’t be assumed.
After receiving a complaint from the victim’s family, Garfa Police began an investigation.
On November 6, police arrested three adults and detained two minors. This included the main accused Arghya Saha, as reported by The Indian Express.
Police are investigating the footage and questioning the accused to find out who planned the attack, assaulted the victim and filmed the incident.
As there are minors involved in the case it is very worrying however they will need to be investigated to find out their role.
The police will investigate to find out the exact reason why the attack happened. However, it is a horrifying reminder of how the desire to go viral online can lead to a serious act of violence.
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