Mumbai:
Four schoolboys in Mumbai have been arrested for gang-raping their classmate, recording a video and then circulating it on WhatsApp.
All five are Class 10 students of a school in Malad in the western suburbs of Mumbai. The boys have been sent to a correctional home after being produced before a juvenile court.
On November 8, one of the boys allegedly called the 15-year-old girl to his home, pretending that he needed help with his studies. The three others were present when the girl reached his place. The boys allegedly took turns to rape the girl and recorded a mobile phone video.
The police say the boys and the girl live in the same residential area.
After raping the girl, the boys allegedly threatened to circulate the video if she complained to anyone. The girl, who lives with her aunt, did not mention it to anyone out of fear.
But one of the boys allegedly went ahead circulated the video on the messenger service WhatsApp.
The clip somehow reached the mobile phone of the girl's aunt, who spoke to the girl and got her to reveal what had happened. A case of gang rape has been registered and the stringent Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act has also been used against the accused boys.
Social psychologists call the unsupervised use of technology amongst children and intent to commit a crime a "deadly combination."
"Technology is a force multiplier for high risk behavior in children. Unsupervised children in an era of anonymity and social chaos can indulge in high risk behavior. Technology and intent is like a combination of petrol and fire for high risk behavior in children," said psychiatrist Harish Shetty.