A 23-year-old unemployed graduate from Meerut has been arrested for allegedly slapping pedestrians, including a woman and a retired PCS officer, a Times of India report said.
The man, identified as Kapil Kumar, had been suffering from depression after the death of his father and his mother's remarriage. Over the past few months, his indecent behavior, including slapping strangers, attracted police attention after several complaints and videos circulating on social media.
Kumar's arrest came on Sunday evening, ending what was described as a “lazy crackdown” in recent weeks.
According to the police, Kumar has been involved in at least three cases of mudslinging and has been booked under Section 115 (Voluntary) of BNS. SP (Meerut City) Ayush Vikram Singh told TOI, “He lost his father around five years ago and his mother remarried a few months later. He now stays with his mother and stepfather in Suraj Kund, Meerut. Kumar told police officers that he was high on dopamine while riding a scooter, slapping people at random and had suicidal thoughts.
Dopamine, a neurotransmitter in the brain, generates feelings of alertness, focus, motivation and pleasure. “Kumar seems to be ailing, but it is unclear whether he is receiving medication. We are gathering more information to ascertain his background,” Nauchandi SHO Ilam Singh told TOI.
Police revealed that Kumar admitted that his childhood was troubled and that his friends often bullied him due to his shy nature. “During interrogation, he mentioned being unemployed and stagnating at home, insisting that he 'wouldn't bother anyone.' One day, he thought, 'A few bad things can lead to something good,' which led to him slapping strangers on the street. was,” police told TOI.
A CCTV clip that has surfaced online shows a man walking nonchalantly, only to hit a youth on a two-wheeler on the cheek. The deceased is a retired PCS officer. In another case, a woman filed a complaint against an “unknown man” who assaulted her, later revealed to be Kumar, TOI reported.