Civic volunteer held for slapping, kicking 12-yr-old
Times of India | 3 September 2024
Kolkata: A civic volunteer was arrested on Saturday for allegedly slapping and kicking a 12-year-old boy near Burrabazar after he was caught jaywalking.
Around 3 pm on Saturday, a 12-year-old boy who works at a local tea shop was crossing the road at the MG Road and Mallik Street crossing. The civic volunteer, Rakesh Kumar Gupta (30), a resident of Jay Mitra Street in Burtolla and posted at the Jorabagan Traffic Guard, stopped him for jaywalking.
Witnesses said that after the boy was stopped, a dispute broke out when the civic volunteer first slapped the boy two to three times and, when he fell on the ground, started kicking him.Seeing the child being beaten up, local shop owners and bystanders protested and stopped him before calling the cops. Subsequently, an FIR was filed against the accused and the police arrested him.
Saturday afternoon’s arrest marked the ninth arrest of a civic volunteer in the past two years. On Sunday, TOI had written how civic volunteers had become a rogue force and have been accused of multiple grave crimes like rape, murder, assault, robbery and theft.