A five-year-old boy died due to grave injuries after allegedly being badly beaten by his stepfather for not being able to complete his homework. The incident was reported in Kapashera area of Southwest Delhi on Saturday, said police, adding that the child’s mother tried to mislead police

by concocting a story ostensibly under the influence of her husband but her bluff was called out by police as they cracked the case.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (Southwest) Devender Arya stated that a case of murder and criminal conspiracy was registered against the accused Narendra Kumar.

“He, along with the mother of the child identified as Rani Devi, has been arrested,” he said.

Rani is separated from her earlier husband and has been living with Narendra. According to police, on January 10 last, the boy was admitted to a hospital with severe injuries in his head and other parts of the body. Initially, mother Rani tried to portray the injuries as an accident.

To protect the accused, the mother reportedly said the child fell down in the bathroom after eating contaminated food. However, according to medical records, the child had multiple injuries and the cause of his death was a head injury.

It appears that the child was banged violently against a wall and sustained critical head injuries that proved fatal, police said.

Following this, a complaint was registered by the father of the child at Kapashera police station. During interrogation, the accused Narendra reportedly confessed to beating the child.

“He said he got frustrated with the boy when he was helping him with his homework, as he was unable to complete his school work, however, we are not satisfied with his statements. We are still investigating the matter,” the DCP said.