KAYAMKULAM: Last night during New Year celebrations at Kayamkulam Erivathottu Kadavu Junction, a nine-year-old boy Akshay was reportedly beaten by police officers with lathi. The child, along with his father faced the brunt of the altercation between some youths and the police. The boy now being treated at the hospital bears visible marks suggesting he was kicked during the ordeal.

According to Akshay who was present to witness the fireworks, police officers in plainclothes assaulted him and his father with a lathi. However, authorities deny these claims stating that the child was not subjected to any such assault. They assert that the lathi was aimed at dispersing youths causing a traffic obstruction.

Simultaneously, another distressing incident occurred in Tripunithura, Kochi where 10-year-old Naveen, son of Anil Kumar was brutally beaten by a neighbour while retrieving a ball that had landed in the neighbour's house. The incident took place around 6 pm on New Year's Eve at Valathikkadav Colony near Tripunithura Gandhi Square.

As children were playing near the house, the ball accidentally ended up in Balan’s house. When Naveen jumped the wall to retrieve it, CCTV footage captured Balan attacking the child with a stick resulting in Naveen being unable to stand up afterward. Hospital reports indicate that the child suffered a fractured leg bone.