The incident took place in the Fazilpur village of Birpur
Four boys were beaten and tied to the pole for allegedly stealing Kurkure and biscuit packets from a grocery shop in Bihar's Begusarai district, the police said.
The incident took place on October 28 in the Fazilpur village of Birpur and came to light when a video of the act went viral on social media platforms.
In the video, the hands of boys can be seen tied to a pole while several people are standing near them.
The police have registered a case against the shopkeeper.
During the investigation, it was found that some boys had been stealing from the shop and were caught by the shopkeeper, Begusarai SP Yogendra Kumar said.
"The shopkeeper has done a very wrong thing by tying up the children and beating them," he said.
He said that the police have contacted the family members of the children and have asked them to give a written application so that they can take legal action against the shopkeeper. However, the parents have not given the application yet, Mr Kumar said.
"We have asked the Birpur police station to contact the family members again and record their statement," he said, adding that strict action will be taken against the shopkeeper.
"Taking such action against children is a serious crime," Mr Kumar said.