NRI arrested for forcing mentally impaired youth into inhuman act in Phillaur

The Punjab State Scheduled Castes Commission has taken suo motu cognizance of a deeply disturbing incident reported from Phillaur, where a Dalit youth with an intellectual disability was allegedly subjected to sexual abuse involving an animal.

The matter came to the commission’s attention following the circulation of a video on social media and reports published in newspapers. Commission Chairman Jasvir Singh Garhi has sought a report from the SSP, Jalandhar Rural Police, by February 19.

The video was over two-month-old, in which a dog owner employed his pet German Shepherd to violate a 23-year-old mentally impaired youth from his own village.

After the video went viral, the police on Sunday arrested the dog owner Harpreet Singh Happy. While the police suspect the involvement of more people in shooting of the video, the associates of the accused are yet to be identified. Harpreet undertook the act just to share the video with friends and increase his followers on social media.

Hailing originally from Boparai village in Phillaur, Harpreet is an affluent NRI based in the Philippines, who is a property dealer and transporter. When the Phillaur police entered his house on Sunday to arrest him, they were greeted by sophisticated security and alarm systems which made the entry into Harpreet's house time consuming.

In Punjab with his wife, Harpreet owns 4-5 dogs, one of which, a German Shepherd named 'Jack' was used in the video.

The police said the video was shot on November 25, 2025, and Harpreet first made the mentally impaired youth consume liquor and then gave him some money before shooting the video. It was then shared on social media by some of his friends. But eventually, the video went viral and complaints were made to the police regarding the objectionable content.

A case had been registered in Phillaur on Sunday under Sections 67 and 67-A of the IT Act and 115 and 131 of the BNS.

DSP, Phillaur, Bharat Masih said, "Harpreet shot the video only for fun and shared for kicks. He appears to be suffering from a paraphilic disorder. He owns several dogs, including two German Shepherds. He used the youth with mental impairment from his village, apparently because he wouldn't have been able to tell anyone. The probe is on to trace his aides who shot the video."

Meanwhile, the Punjab State Scheduled Castes Commission has also sought a status report regarding the incident and directed Masih to appear in person before the commission at its office, to present the findings.