A woman in Telangana rubbed chilli powder in her son's eyes after tying him to a pole to punish him for his ganja (cannabis) addiction.
The video of the incident that occurred at Kodad in Suryapet district of Telangana went viral on social media on Monday.
Worried over her 15-year-old son turning a ganja addict, the woman tied him to a pole. Not stopping at that, she rubbed chilli powder in his eyes even as another woman held his hands.
The youth was heard screaming wildly due to the burning sensation, while some neighbours were also heard advising the boy's mother to pour water.
The woman untied her son only after he promised to give up the habit of smoking ganja.
The mother resorted to rather harsh punishment as he was bunking school and smoking ganja. Despite repeated warnings, he did not mend his ways.
While parents rubbing chilli powder into the eyes of children to punish them is not new in rural Telangana, the video triggered a debate on social media whether this old method will be useful. Some netizens suggested that this may prove counter-productive.
The incident comes amid the growing drug addiction among youth and the ongoing drive by the law enforcement authorities to curb the menace.
Death of an engineering graduate due to overdose of drugs in Hyderabad recently has alarmed the authorities. Investigation by the police revealed that he became a drug addict while visiting Goa along with friends and a drug peddler and he had started consuming a cocktail of drugs.
The police and newly formed Hyderabad Narcotics Enforcement Wing (H-NEW) is not only acting tough against peddlers but also booking cases against those found to be consuming the drugs.
According to police, in recent times several youth and students have become addicted to drugs and they are involved in crime and other anti-social activities.
The police has appealed to the youth and students not to fall prey to drugs and requested the parents to keep a watch on the activities of their children and feel free to approach police or pass information to police to curtail such anti-social activities.
