The incident came in the wake of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah's warning against moral policing
in the state.
The victim, studying at Paramedical College in Bhadravati, was beaten up by the miscreants after the girl took a drop from him as her sister met with an accident on Saturday, police said.
While the boy and his friends were returning, the miscreants waylaid them and subsequently attacked the boy, police said.
Police have arrested four accused, and are in the hunt for the fifth, Shivamogga SP Mithun Kumar said.
The Old Town Police has registered a case in this regard.
Stringent action will be taken against those who take law into their hands, SP said. (UNI)