A five-year-old boy was allegedly beaten to death by a 22-year-old man in Tamil Nadu’s Kancheepuram after the child resisted a sexual assault attempt on him, officials said on Sunday.
The accused, identified as Boldev Masuva and a resident of Assam, has been arrested by the Tamil Nadu Police.
The boy, the son of a migrant couple from Bihar residing in Karumangazhani village, had been reported missing on June 9. Following a police complaint by his parents, a search operation was launched. Days later, the child’s decomposed body was recovered from a secluded area near the village.
At first, police suspected that the boy may have died due to a fall that caused a head injury. However, CCTV footage from the area revealed the boy being taken away by Masuva. Based on this lead, he was tracked down and taken into custody.
During interrogation, Masuva allegedly confessed to attempting to sexually assault the child. When the boy began to cry and resist, Masuva admitted to killing him with a stone to silence him.
A case has been registered and further investigation into the matter is underway.