Mother beats 13-year-old son to death with a cricket bat

Pune: A woman who allegedly beat her 13-year-old son to death with a cricket bat has been remanded to police custody till August 10 by a magistrate’s court.

The incident occurred on Wednesday at around 11.40 pm. The woman, identified as Rakhi Tarun Balpande (36) of Vishrantwadi area in Pune, beat her son Chaitanya (13), grievously injuring him. She took him to hospital however doctors declared him dead. Police officials said the deceased boy’s parents — Ms Balpande and her husband Tarun Balpande — were not living together for nearly three years following a dispute between them. Ms Balpande was demanding custody of their son. The son reportedly wanted to meet his father, but Ms Balpande would not allow him to do so which was possibly the reason for her beating him.

Ms Balpande is highly educated and works at a company in Pune while Mr Balpande lives and works in Nagpur. He rushed to Pune Thursday morning after being informed about Chaitanya’s death.

The Vishrantwadi police registered an offence against Ms Balpande, arrested her and produced her before the magistrate’s court in Pune which on Friday remanded her to police custody till August 10. The police are investigating the facts behind the incident.