5-Year-Old Boy Dies After Father Smashes Child's Head On Floor During Family Altercation

A 5-year-old child in India died after his father smashed his head on the floor during an argument with the latter's brother.

Authorities said the incident took place Sunday after the man, identified as Mohd Naseem, got into a heated argument with his brother over property matters. During the argument, the child went up to Naseem and asked him to play. The enraged father grabbed the child and smashed his head on the floor, the Times of India reported.

The boy became unconscious, but the two brothers continued to fight. The child was later taken to a private hospital in Uttar Pradesh's Bareilly district where doctors said he had gone into coma. The child later died of severe head injuries that led to internal bleeding.

The child's mother rushed to the police station and filed a complaint against her husband, India TV reported.

"We have registered an FIR under section 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) against the father. His wife lodged the complaint and wants immediate action. The child's body has been sent for autopsy. His father has been taken into custody. We are now waiting for the autopsy report. The statements of the family members will be recorded soon," Baradari precinct police officer Sheetanshu Singh told the Times of India.

In a similar incident last month, a man was arrested after he brutally thrashed his 9-year-old girl for intervening in a fight between him and his wife. Authorities said the 42-year-old man arrived home drunk and picked up a fight with his wife at their residence in Bengaluru, a city in the southern state of Karnataka. The child saw her parents fighting and tried to intervene. The father got infuriated, and proceeded to hit the minor girl and verbally abuse her. The man also reportedly assaulted his wife.

Reports said at the time the child's mother rushed her daughter to the hospital, and the police were informed after doctors examined the girl. The accused was arrested and booked under sections 324 (assault using dangerous weapons), 506 (criminal intimidation and 509 (words or gestures to outrage the modesty of women) and relevant sections of the Juvenile Justice Act.