CHENNAI: A 34-year-old man from Kancheepuram was arrested for allegedly beating to death a five-year-old boy who cried out loud when he attempted to sexually abuse him on Sunday night. The accused, M Rajesh of Karukkupet village, was booked under Sections 9 (m) and 10 of the Pocso Act and 103 of the BNS, and remanded in judicial custody on Tuesday.
According to the Kancheepuram Taluk police, the accused works as a surveyor in the Land Survey Division of the Kancheepuram district. Rajesh got separated from his wife some years ago.
A few months ago, he began frequenting a pushcart eatery run by a woman, whom he befriended and eventually got into a relationship with, police said.
The woman lived with her mother and two children — a five-year-old boy and a nine-year-old girl — after getting separated from her husband. “Rajesh would often visit her house while the children were at school. He would also take the children to his house where they would play.
"On Sunday too, Rajesh took both of them to his house, where he attempted to sexually abuse the boy. However, when the boy resisted and started crying loudly, Rajesh beat him and pushed him to the ground,” a police officer said.
After this, Rajesh dropped the children back at their house and left. Around 1.30 am on Monday, the boy woke up and started vomiting. He was rushed to a government hospital where he died a few hours later.
Upon finding external injuries on his body, the doctors there alerted the police. The boy’s body was then sent for autopsy and a case was registered.