Kochi, Nov 8 A 40-year-old woman was arrested on Sunday for allegedly joining her son and his friends in assaulting a 17-year-old boy over a dispute linked to Instagram messages in Edappally, police said.
The assault took place on Friday at the woman’s rented house on Changampuzha Road in Edappally North, leaving the boy injured, they said.
According to police, the boy and the woman’s son had studied together until Class 10 and were now doing Plus Two in different schools. The boy and some of his friends had created a common Instagram account for online gaming. A few months ago, his mobile phone was damaged, after which he lost access to the account.
When he recently regained access, he found that his friends had sent obscene messages to several women through the account. He questioned them about it, police said.
On Friday, one of the friends called him to a location in Elamakkara to settle the dispute. He was later taken to the woman’s rented house in Edappally, where the woman and seven juveniles allegedly assaulted him and recorded the incident on video, police said.
The boy did not initially tell his parents about the assault. They noticed his injuries, questioned him and admitted him to a hospital.
Based on his complaint, Elamakkara police registered a case on Sunday and arrested the woman. A report will be submitted to the Juvenile Justice Board against the seven juveniles, including her son, police said.
The case has been registered under Sections 3(5), 110, 127(2), 189(1)(c), 190, 296(b) and 351(3) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.
The boy’s mother told reporters that her son had been assaulted earlier as well.
“We had lodged a police complaint then, following which the boys were summoned to the police station. They assured us that they would not engage in any such acts again,” she said.
She alleged that her son was called for a settlement while he was returning from school.
“They brutally assaulted him and tore his uniform. He came home tired but did not tell us anything. Later, when he was unable to sleep due to pain, I asked him about it and came to know about his injuries and the incident,” she said.
(PTI News)
