A local businessman in North Dinajpur district’s Dalkhola was arrested on Friday on charges of assaulting four minor boys suspected of stealing goods from his motorcycle showroom, police said.
“The incident took place on Thursday.
The accused, Arjun Sarkar, was arrested on the basis of complaints lodged by the parents of the minors who live in the same neighbourhood,” a police officer said, requesting anonymity.
None of the boys suffered a serious injury, the officer added.
Sarkar, who was allegedly seen hitting the children in a widely-circulated video, acknowledged that he had made a mistake and regretted his actions.
“I did hit the boys with a belt. I made a mistake and I apologise. But they confessed that they stole goods from my showroom,” Sarkar told reporters while being taken to the police station.
Trinamool Congress posted a news report on the video featuring Arjun Sarkar, and described him as a local Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader in Dalkhola, Uttar Dinajpur. “This is the toxic entitlement bred in a party that shields goons while preaching morality from every podium. This is the same Party that crows about “law and order” while their foot soldiers beat minors bloody,” the TMC said in a post on X.
HT could not independently verify the video’s authenticity.
Bengal BJP leaders have not commented on the incident.
