Woman held for joining son, friends in assaulting 17-year-old boy over Instagram messages in Kochi

A 40-year-old woman was arrested on Sunday for allegedly joining her son and his friends in assaulting a 17-year-old boy over a dispute linked to Instagram messages in Edappally, police said.

The assault took place on Saturday at the woman's rented house on Changampuzha Road in Edappally North, leaving the boy injured, they said.

According to police, the boy and the woman's son had studied together until Class 10 and were now doing Plus Two in different schools. The boy and some of his friends had created a common Instagram account for online gaming. A few months ago, his mobile phone was damaged, after which he lost access to the account.

When he recently regained access, he found that his friends had sent obscene messages to several women through the account. He questioned them about it, police said.

On Saturday, one of the friends called him to a location in Elamakkara to settle the dispute. He was later taken to the woman's rented house in Edappally, where the woman and seven juveniles allegedly assaulted him and recorded the incident on video, police said.

The boy did not initially tell his parents about the assault. They noticed his injuries, questioned him and admitted him to a hospital.

Based on his complaint, Elamakkara police registered a case on Sunday and arrested the woman. A report will be submitted to the Juvenile Justice Board against the seven juveniles, including her son, police said.

The case has been registered under Sections 3(5), 110, 127(2), 189(1)(c), 190, 296(b) and 351(3) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.