They called girls "trash". They spoke about "bang"-ing and raping classmates. They used homophobic slurs and jaw-droppingly violent language.



They are 13 and 14.



Eight Mumbai students have been suspended from a "top-ranked IB [International Board] school" for the horrific content of their WhatsApp chats, a Mumbai daily reports.



That happened when two parents, "both celebrities in their own right", complained to the school after accessing the boys' conversations, the newspaper reported today.

Some girls were too afraid to go to school, it said.



To read the chat transcripts is to receive an alarming reminder of the widespread use of violent and sexually explicit language in popular media, especially online.



Consider, for example, the boys' use of the word "gang bang" in a conversation about one of their female classmates. Or this line: "I'll destroy that little b***h."



Or this: "Didn't rape [xxx]."



One of the parents who spoke to the daily said some of the students in the conversation were in "leadership positions".

Twitter users commenting on the story were aghast.

"What’s going on in our society!" wrote actor Ronit Roy. "As a father I’m scared for both my son and daughter!"

"This is terrible news," said another user.

"This is where the problem of violence against women has to be nipped."