The Bombay High Court has granted bail to a 33-year-old man accused of assaulting three minor boys on their private parts on suspicion of being thieves, noting that there was no sexual intent involved in the case. A single bench of Justice Anil Kilor, in an order dated June 21 and made available on Monday, granted bail to Kapil Taak. The court noted that the case pertained solely to physical and mental torture.

Taak was arrested in 2021 on charges of unnatural offence, assault, and criminal intimidation under the Indian Penal Code, as well as for sexual assault under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. Taak and the other accused allegedly stripped the three teenage boys, assaulted them with leather belts, inserted fingers into their anus, and applied balm to their private parts. Taak is also accused of filming the incident on a mobile phone.