Kanpur (Uttar Pradesh), Jul 20 (IANS): More than a dozen persons have been booked and two arrested so far, for stripping and beating a boy in the marketplace after he allegedly stole some vegetables.

Superintendent of Police (Kanpur Outer) Ashtbhuja P. Singh, said, "We are interrogating several people to ascertain their role in the incident. We are also identifying people on the basis of the video footage of the incident."

The police official said that a video went viral in which a boy was allegedly stripped, his hands tied with a rope from behind and brutally thrashed for stealing a small number of vegetables. The incident took place two days ago.

An FIR in the incident has been lodged at the Sachendi police station.

Taking suo-motu cognizance, Chakarpur police post-in-charge Ashok Kumar had registered the FIR with Sachendi police against a dozen persons under sections of the IPC.

The boy's identity has not been established so far, police said, adding that they were also trying to trace him.