Kochi schoolboy assaulted by friends; police widen probe after video surfaces, summon students, parents

Kochi: The investigation into the brutal assault of a 17-year-old Plus Two student by his friends and one of their mothers in Kochi has widened, with the police suspecting that more juveniles were present during the attack than initially identified. After examining the complete video footage of the incident, the Elamakkara police have summoned all the students involved, along with their parents and the victim, for questioning ahead of their appearance before the Juvenile Justice Board (JJB).

The investigating team served notices on Monday, directing the students and their parents to appear at the Elamakkara police station. Individual Social Background Reports detailing the conduct and circumstances of each minor, including the victim, are being prepared before they are produced before the JJB for further legal proceedings.

The latest development comes after the arrest and judicial remand of a 40-year-old woman, the mother of one of the students allegedly involved in the assault. She is accused of joining the group in attacking the teenager, who was allegedly held captive and brutally beaten over a dispute involving an Instagram account.

The police had initially identified four boys and one girl in connection with the assault. However, an examination of the complete video footage has led investigators to believe that additional juveniles were present in the rented apartment in Edappally where the attack took place on Saturday evening.

“Notices were served directing the students and their guardians to report to the police station. Detailed Social Background Reports are being prepared for every juvenile involved, after which they will be produced before the Juvenile Justice Board for appropriate legal proceedings,” a police officer said.

Dispute over Instagram account
The confrontation reportedly stemmed from an Instagram account created by former Class 10 classmates for online gaming. Though the students are now enrolled in different schools, they continued to share mobile phones to play games using the account.

The dispute reportedly erupted after the victim temporarily lost access to the account when his mobile phone was damaged. On regaining access, he found that obscene messages had been sent to several female students through the account.

His classmates accused him of sending the messages, but the teenager maintained that someone else in the group had misused his profile while they were exchanging phones during gaming sessions. The disagreement reportedly led to repeated confrontations over the past few weeks, both inside and outside school campuses.

The teenager was allegedly lured to a location in Elamakkara on the pretext of settling the dispute amicably before being taken to a rented apartment in Edappally. He was confined there, cornered against a wall and assaulted by the group.

Mobile phone footage of the incident, recorded by the assailants and later circulated on social media, shows the boy being repeatedly slapped, shoved and thrown to the floor. He was allegedly forced to remove his shirt before being kicked and punched.

The footage also shows the 40-year-old woman confronting the shirtless teenager. She is seen berating and threatening him and shouting at him aggressively at him while the boys continue the assault.

The victim’s family has alleged that the woman struck the teenager on the head with a household vessel and later posted clips of the assault as her WhatsApp status.

Assault came to light after hospitalisation
The teenager did not initially reveal the incident to his parents, reportedly due to trauma and intimidation. The assault came to light a day later when his condition deteriorated and he began passing blood in his urine.

He was rushed to hospital, where doctors reportedly detected internal injuries caused by blunt-force trauma. His parents subsequently approached the Elamakkara police and lodged a complaint.

The woman was arrested and remanded in judicial custody. The accused have been booked under various provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), including Section 110 (attempt to commit culpable homicide), Section 127(2) (wrongful confinement), Sections 189(1)(c) and 190 (unlawful assembly and rioting), Section 296(b) (obscene acts or words), Section 351(3) (criminal intimidation) and Section 3(5) (joint liability and common intention).