Hazaribag: A dalit teenager was confined to a room, his head was partially shaved and thrashed for allegedly having an affair with a Muslim girl at Guruwa village under Hazaribag Mufassil police station area on Tuesday, creating resentment among the dalit families of the area for the past four days.

Family members of the teenager, a Class X student of Amritnagar High School , alleged that the boy was accosted by some 20 to 25 people led by Md Rafique, the girl's father, when he was going to school and was thrashed.

The mother of the boy alleged that her son was locked in a room for more than four hours and was severely beaten up on Tuesday following which he had to be admitted to the Hazaribag Sadar Hospital.

He has been shifted to the RIMS in Ranchi on Thursday when his condition deteriorated. She also alleged that prior to his confinement, the boy's head was partially shaved and he was paraded in the village with a garland made of shoes for his alleged affair with the girl.

The action by the relatives of the girl was protested by the Dalit villagers, who said that if the boy was punished for his alleged affair, the girl, too, should be punished for the same "offence" as she was equally responsible. The girl, they alleged, was exchanging letters regularly with the boy for the last few months. The villagers demanded that action against the girl's parents and kin be taken under the SC/ST act.

When the situation turned serious, a meeting was called with the members of both the communities in the village. The relatives of both the boy and girl attended the meeting. The village elders issued an order asking the boy's family to leave the village and settle elsewhere and imposed a fine of Rs 10,000 on them for the "offence".

Later, when the boy's father expressed his inability to pay such a heavy amount, the "fine" was reduced and he was directed to pay Rs 3,000 .

Hazaribag SP Pankaj Kamboj said cases had been lodged by the parents of the victim and girl's father. In addition, a separate case under the SC/ST act was also registered with the Hazaribag Mufassil police station following a complaint lodged by the boy's parents .