The young boy was shot while waiting to be interrogated by the police.
The Tamil Nadu administration today suspended a Police Inspector who was responsible for the bullet injury a teenager received at a police station near Chennai on Tuesday.
Preliminary investigation into the shooting of the 16-year-old boy inside Neelankarai police station has revealed police excess as the cause of the incident.
The young boy, who was accused of a minor theft, was shot when Police Inspector Puspraj's revolver went off while he was allegedly cleaning it.
But investigation into the incident found that the cop had brandished the revolver on the teenager to allegedly get his confession in the theft case. The gun went off with the bullet passing through a part of the boy's neck.
"Prima facie it is police excess," Revenue Divisional Officer, Indrajit, who conducted the probe, said. Police had earlier claimed it was a case of accidental shooting.
The boy's family has accused the cops of lying, alleging that the boy was picked up at 2 am on Monday night and kept at the station till Tuesday evening.
Child rights activist say the police violated the Juvenile Justice Act, which says minors cannot be brought to the police station for questioning, no matter what their crime is.
"We demand a thorough probe and stringent action against the police who are responsible," A Narayanan, an activist, told NDTV.
The boy underwent surgery at a private hospital and is reported to be out of danger now.