Kochi auto-rickshaw driver booked for slapping 12-year-old who spotted liquor bottle inside vehicle

Kochi: A 12-year-old boy was allegedly slapped and threatened by an auto-rickshaw driver after the child questioned the presence of a liquor bottle inside the vehicle while travelling to a church in Tripunithura on Wednesday evening.

The Hill Palace Police have registered a case against the driver under Sections 126(2) (wrongful restraint), 115(2) (voluntarily causing hurt) and 351(2) (criminal intimidation) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), following a complaint filed by the boy’s father.

According to the FIR, the incident occurred between 4.20 pm and 4.30 pm on August 5. The boy was waiting at Kopparambu Junction in Eroor South near his house to travel to St Mary’s Jacobite Church for choir practice when he hired an auto-rickshaw.

After getting into the vehicle, the boy noticed broken liquor bottles on the floor and casually asked the driver about it. The question allegedly enraged the driver, according to the complaint.

The boy’s father told Onmanorama that the driver was heavily drunk during the journey, the auto-rickshaw stalled on the road, after which the driver allegedly shouted at the child, warned him not to “fool around” and aggressively demanded to know where he wanted to go.

When the vehicle reached the church, the driver allegedly forced the boy out, grabbed him by his vest, slapped him on the cheek and held him by the neck. The complaint states that the driver restrained the child and threatened, “If you make noise, I will kill you.”

“The driver refused to let the boy leave until his mother arrived and forced him to call her. During the phone call, the frightened child told his mother that the driver was holding him and refusing to let him go. When she spoke to the driver, he allegedly threatened her as well, saying, “Why are you sending the child alone?”, the boy’s father told.

The boy eventually broke free and ran into the church premises, where choir teachers, parents and other children had gathered. According to the boy's father, the driver chased him into the church and created a commotion by arguing with those present.

“Alerted by his mother, my elder son, who is 16-year-old, reached the church and questioned the driver over the assault. The driver shouted at him and threatened to kill him too,” he added.

Local residents and parents intervened and restrained the driver while the police control room was alerted. However, before police arrived, the driver allegedly fled the scene in his auto-rickshaw.

The boy was taken to a nearby Taluk Hospital after complaining of pain and numbness in his ear and neck. Doctors advised an ENT evaluation if the discomfort persisted.

On Thursday, the boy’s father gave his statement at the Hill Palace Police Station, following which an FIR was registered. Police sources said the driver, during preliminary questioning, reportedly admitted he had been heavily intoxicated and had scolded the child, but denied physically assaulting him.

However, the police have not arrested him yet and further investigation is underway.

The boy’s father said the complaint was filed to ensure that no other child suffers a similar ordeal.