Teenager arrested for torturing 9-year-old boy

Kochi: A teenager was arrested here on Monday for allegedly torturing a nine-year-old boy at the child’s home at nearby Chambakkara, resulting in severe burn injuries and requiring hospitalisation, police said.

The 19-year-old was arrested on the basis of the boy’s statement, they said.

The youth, staying in the same house and reportedly in a relationship with the boy’s sister, placed an iron box under the knees and feet of the child.

He was shifted to a hospital on Monday after police rushed to the house on receiving a tip off.

The boy was allegedly tortured when his mother and sister were away from home.

His father, who had suffered a spinal injury following a fall, is bedridden, police said.

The youth has been booked under IPC sections 324 (voluntarily causing hurt by dangerous weapons or means), 342 (Punishment for wrongful confinement) and Juvenile Justice Act Section 75 (Punishment for cruelty to Child).

Police said a probe has been launched into the incident and they were also examining whether the boy’s sister was a minor.