Uttar Pradesh: A 23-year-old unemployed graduate from Uttar Pradesh has been slapping strangers to “combat his depression” and make himself feel good. The man, Kapil Kumar, has been struggling with depression following his father’s death and his mother’s remarriage.
According to a report by TOI, Kapil Kumar has been booked under Section 115 (voluntarily causing hurt) of the BNS for slapping pedestrians, including a woman and a retired PCS officer in Meerut. The Uttar Pradesh resident has been on his slapping spree for the past five to six months, according to the police.
“Kumar told cops he has been slapping people randomly while riding a scooter for dopamine rush and also encountered suicidal thoughts,” Ayush Vikram Singh, SP (Meerut city), told TOI.
How the UP man’s slapping spree came to light
Kapil Kumar’s act came to light after purported videos of his behaviour circulated online, and the police started receiving complaints.
The woman whom Kapil Kumar slapped happens to be a close kin of a local politician. She filed a police complaint against an “unidentified man” for slapping her, reported TOI.
“Kumar was identified in at least three of the slapping incidents and was booked under BNS section 115. He lost his father around five years ago, and his mother remarried months later. He now stays with his mom and stepdad at Suraj Kund in Meerut,” the TOI quoted the police as saying.
‘Something good might happen by slapping’
Another cop said that Kapil Kumar had a disturbed childhood. Kumar’s friends would often make fun of him for his timid nature.
“During questioning, he told police that he was jobless, and nothing good was happening to him when he was at home and he was ‘not disturbing anyone’. So, one day, he thought that perhaps ‘something good might happen by doing a few bad things’, following which he went on slapping strangers on the road…” the police officer said, reported TOI.
