Couple arrested for beating, singeing house help’s toddler

The arrested accused, identified as Vaibhav Kokare, 32, and his wife Vaibhavi Kokare, 30, live in Bhandup. The couple were produced in court on Thursday and remanded to police custody.

MUMBAI: The Bhandup police have arrested a couple for allegedly beating their maid’s two-and-half-year-old son and burning him with matchsticks when he was crying. The maid, employed by them two weeks ago, used to bring her child with her to their house, as her husband is paralysed.

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The arrested accused, identified as Vaibhav Kokare, 32, and his wife Vaibhavi Kokare, 30, live in Bhandup. The couple were produced in court on Thursday and remanded to police custody.

According to the police, the complainant, Gargi Kadam, 30, lives in the Bhandup area along with her husband and her son. As her husband is paralysed and cannot take care of their son, she always takes the toddler with her to her employer’s house.

“For some reason, her son cries a lot. The accused woman told her that she knew black magic and if she performed it on the toddler, he would not cry. Under the pretext of curing him, the Kokare couple used to burn the boy with matchsticks and beat him while his mother was busy working at their place,” said an officer of Bhandup police station.

“We saw injuries on the boy’s body and arrested the Kokare couple based on the FIR. Both were produced in court,” said inspector Mahajan of Bhandup police station.