Mom Allegedly Tortures 'Ugly' Son, Says She Lost Her Good Looks After Giving Birth

A 27-year-old woman from the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, who was arrested for allegedly assaulting her 2-year-old son, has confessed to torturing the child as she believed she had lost her beautiful appearance after he was born via a caesarean section, police said Monday.

The woman, identified as Tulasi, was arrested in Chittoor by authorities from the neighboring state of Tamil Nadu after her ex-husband, Vadivazhagan, found videos of the mother torturing their second son on her smartphone. The videos were also leaked and shared on social media, local news outlets The Times of India and NDTV reported.

One of the videos allegedly filmed by Tulasi back in February reportedly showed the mother incessantly hitting her son, Pradeep, on the mouth even after the child bled. Tulasi was also seen hitting the child's foot as he cried out in pain before hitting him again with a flip-flop, another video showed.

Tulasi tortured the child and filmed the act whenever there was a dispute with her former partner, investigators said. Additionally, the mother allegedly felt angry toward the child over her experience with his birth.

"The second son (Pradeep) was delivered via a caesarean section, and she had some health problems after the birth, leading to a dislike towards him," Villupuram superintendent of police Dr. N Shreenatha was quoted as saying.

Tulasi had also been told by her lover — a Chennai man named Premkumar — that her first son was "good looking" like her, while her second son was "ugly" like her husband, which prompted the abuse, police said. She allegedly sent the footage to Premkumar.

"Tulasi in her confessional statement claimed that she tortured her son at the behest of her lover, Premkumar," Villupuram DSP K Elangovan said.

A case of culpable homicide not amounting to murder, causing hurt and abduction was registered over the incident. Police are also on the lookout for Premkumar.

Tulasi was subjected to a psychiatric examination at the Government Medical College Hospital Monday, where experts declared she was perfectly normal and was not mentally unstable as previously presumed by police due to the videos of abuse.

The mother was presented before a court in Gingee and she was remanded in judicial custody for 15 days.

Tulasi's two sons have since been handed over to their father.