Bengaluru, 16 Nov

An argument a 14-year-old boy had with his father to persuade him to get his mobile phone repaired ended in his death in Yelachenahalli, police said here on Saturday.

The accused, Ravi Kumar, works as a carpenter while his wife, Shashikala, is a homemaker. The victim, Tejas, was studying in Class 9 while his elder brother was in Class 10.

Kumar assaulted him with a cricket bat and held him by neck and banged his head on the wall several times and only after he lost complete consciousness, they took him to the hospital where he was declared brought dead on Friday.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (South) Lokesh B Jagalasar said there was a lot of dissatisfaction and clashes between the child and his parents over excessive use of mobile phone. Also, the parents were unhappy about him not attending school regularly and for associating with a “bad group of friends”.

The immediate cause for the assault, however, was about the mobile phone. Since his phone was not working, he has been requesting his parents to get it repaired.

"The assault has caused the death of the child and it was not a simple assault. Multiple injuries were found on the back of the child and head. The father who assaulted the child has been arrested," he said.

Following the incident, Kumar attempted to hush up the matter and was about to carry the last rites of the boy, police said. He had lied to his neighbours that his son died of illness. However, his wife went against him and alerted police about the incident.–Salar News with Agencies