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A 15-year-old junior high school (JHS) pupil of Agormanya, near Akuse in the Eastern Region, had the shock of his life last Saturday after he had been subjected to severe assault by the father of a female pupil he is alleged to have befriended. The boy was also detained at the Akuse Police cells for almost two days after he had allegedly been handcuffed and paraded through the streets of Agormanya by his assailant, Thomas Asare, and his policeman friend, Corporal Christian Anyan. The boy, with a swollen face and bruises all over his body, collapsed and was rushed to the Akuse Government Hospital after the Deputy Eastern Regional Police Commander, Assistant Commissioner of Police, Mr James Abass Abaa, had ordered his immediate release from cells upon hearing of the case. Mr Asare had allegedly waylaid the victim, who was returning home from weekend classes with Mr Asare�s 13-year-old daughter. After severely assaulting the boy, Mr Asare is said to have solicited the help of his friend, Corporal Anyan, who went to the scene to handcuff the boy, paraded him through some of the streets of the town before locking him up at the Akuse police cell. Not even pleadings by onlookers and wailing by the boy�s mother could make Mr Asare and Corporal Anyan have sympathy on the boy, who is said to have been treated like a criminal. When the Daily Graphic went to the Nuaso Police Station last Sunday, a day after the boy�s arrest, to find out about the case, the officer in charge, Inspector Emmanuel Asiedu, did not know anything about it. �You are now telling me. I do not know anything about it,� he stated with surprise. When the Daily Graphic contacted the Akuse District Police Commander, Deputy Superintendent of Police Mr Francis Arthur, on phone, he retorted, �You should not tell me what to do.� The situation compelled the Daily Graphic to inform Mr Abaa, who immediately ordered the release of the victim. He also ordered the arrest of both Mr Asare and Corporal Anyan to be charged with assault. Residents appeal Meanwhile, some residents of Agormanya have appealed to the Eastern Regional Police Command to investigate the circumstances under which some of the policemen in the Krobo area have been misconducting themselves, particularly the way they illegally detain innocent people. About four years ago, a similar incident occurred at that police station when a 56-year-old trader at the Agormanya Market, Madam Agnes Badjo, was kept behind the counter for a whole day for refusing to pay for a fake vehicle spare part she had bought from an auto mechanic said to be a friend of one of the policemen there. Madam Badjo had been released only on the orders of the then District Police Commander, DSP Barimah, who had directed the auto mechanic to institute a civil action against Madam Badjo at the court. By A. Kofoya-Tetteh/Daily Graphic/Ghana