Ambernath: A seven-year-old boy, who was battling for life after allegedly being brutally assaulted by his mother’s live-in partner in Ambernath, died during treatment at Mumbai’s KEM Hospital, prompting police to register a murder case against the accused.The accused, Vikas Singh (25), has now been booked under charges of murder and taken into custody after the child’s death on Tuesday night.According to the FIR lodged by the victim’s 38-year-old mother Salma (name changed), she came in contact of Singh through one of her relatives and they both fell in love. Last month, on June 26, she separated from her husband and was living with Singh in Kalyan at his house in Ambernath along with her youngest son (7). Her two elder children stayed with their father. She worked at a private company in Ambernath, while the child remained at home during the day with Singh, who does odd jobs for a living.Investigators said Singh allegedly harboured resentment towards the boy because he slept beside his mother at night. The FIR states that the child had repeatedly complained that Singh beat him whenever his mother was away at work. The woman also alleged Singh would force the boy to sleep separately and had earlier threatened to kill him if he continued to come between them.According to the complaint, on July 17, the woman left for work around 9am after seeing her son asleep. Around 11.45am, Singh arrived at her workplace with the child and allegedly told her that he had beaten him. She noticed injury marks on the boy’s face and body, but Singh allegedly dismissed them as minor.Later that afternoon, the child’s condition deteriorated. He complained of severe pain in his stomach and private parts, and repeatedly told his mother that Singh had kicked him there. On examining him, she noticed swelling and immediately rushed him to Central Hospital in Ulhasnagar. As his condition worsened, he was shifted to Sion Hospital, and later referred to Mumbai’s KEM Hospital, where doctors admitted him to the Intensive Care Unit.Despite intensive medical treatment, the seven-year-old succumbed to his injuries.Senior police inspector Shabbir Sayyed of Ambernath Police station said that following the child’s death, they have added section of a murder in the case against Singh, who is already in police custody after victim’s mother lodge complaint with police.Police are awaiting the final post-mortem report and are continuing their investigation into the case. — Pradeep Gupta
