Sambalpur, Jan. 13: A four-month-old cell phone video clip showing the torture of a 16-year-old boy inside Hirakud police station has led to demands for exemplary action against the policemen involved.

After the footage was aired on a private television channel, police superintendent Akhilesvar Singh directed the sub-divisional police officer to conduct a probe into the allegation and submit a report within 12 hours.

In Bhubaneswar, social activists have taken up the case of the boy, with the State Human Rights Commission seeking a compensation of Rs 10 lakh for him.

Sources said that the minor had snatched the mobile phone of a person on September 17 last year. Following a complaint, the cops had brought the minor to the police station for inquiry.

The video footage shows three to four policemen, including a woman cop, thrashing him. The boy, whose legs were tied, could be heard pleading for mercy.

The mother of the minor alleged that the police had demanded Rs 8,000 to ensure that the boy was not arrested and forwarded to the court. A daily wageworker, she managed to pay Rs 6,000 to the police on September 19 and brought her son home.

Legal experts said that under the juvenile law, the police should have produced the teen before the court of chief judicial magistrate, from where he would have been sent to short stay home.

Director of Child Line, Sambalpur, Pradeep Behera said: "It is a heinous incident. I am yet to know the details of the incident. However, I am going to Hirakud police station to inquire into the matter.A fact finding team will be formed too."