A six-year-old boy was kicked, punched and assaulted to death with a metal cooking ladle by his mother’s lover, who saw the child as an obstacle to his private moments and his illicit affair with the woman after they met on social media recently, police said on Monday.
Police arrested the accused, Prashant Singh, alias Gaurav Singh, 26, on Monday, a day after the child’s death, and claimed to have found the ladle that was allegedly used in the assault. The victim’s mother, Poonam Devi, was also named in the FIR, though police said her role was still under investigation.
According to SHO (Madiaon) Shivanand Mishra, Prashant, a native of Ayodhya who was working as a laborer in Kanpur, contacted Poonam via Instagram a few months ago. “A relationship developed between the two and Prashant would frequently visit Lucknow and stay at her rented accommodation when her husband was away on work,” he added.
“During interrogation, Prashant said that he and Poonam wanted privacy and that the boy often interrupted them. The police alleged that the accused was adamant about having frequent sexual encounters with the woman and considered the boy a hindrance whenever he visited her.”
Police said Prashant was staying at the woman’s house for about five days before the incident. “During that period, he allegedly assaulted the child repeatedly after Poonam left for work. On the day of the incident, the assault allegedly turned fatal when the boy was kicked, punched and assaulted with a metal ladle,” the SHO said.
The victim’s father, Dinesh Kumar, filed a complaint on July 5, naming Prashant and Poonam. Based on the complaint, the police registered a case of murder under Section 103(1) of the National Services Act. Prashant was arrested near Madhyaun Railway Bridge after police received a tip-off that he was planning to abscond.
