Surat: An accountant has been arrested for allegedly assaulting a nine-year-old boy and hurling casteist slurs at him after a foam ball struck his daughter at a posh residential society in Althan, police said on Sunday.The accused, identified as Vardhan Shah (32), was angered by the incident. A video of the assault, captured by the society’s CCTV cameras, has since gone viral on social media, showing him slapping and brutally beating the child in the society’s play area.The incident took place on Friday, when the boy, the son of a professor at a leading college in the city, was playing with other children in the residential complex. According to the complaint, Shah confronted the child after the ball hit his daughter, assaulted him and subjected him to caste-based abuse. He also forced the boy to apologise to his daughter by holding his ears with both hands.Following the incident, the boy’s friends informed his mother, who checked the society’s CCTV footage. The footage showed Shah repeatedly slapping the child. The boy was so frightened during the incident that he urinated on his pants.The child suffered severe distress, developed a fever and struggled to sleep at night as he continued to recall the incident. His family took him to a hospital for treatment.After the boy received medical attention, his mother approached the Althan police and lodged a complaint seeking action against Shah. Acting on the complaint, police registered an offence under provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.Shah, who works as an accountant, was taken into custody in connection with the case. Police said further investigation is underway.
