Five-year-old Indian child tied and left in scorching heat on roof for not doing homework, police say

Video of brutal punishment comes as Delhi faces scorching summer heat

A disturbing video has emerged in India showing a five-year-old girl screaming and writhing after being tied with a rope and left on the terrace of her home in the sweltering heat of national capital Delhi.

An initial probe in the case revealed the girl’s mother was angry with her for not completing her homework and had allegedly left her on the terrace to punish her.

The mother has been arrested by police for child cruelty.

The incident took place in the national capital’s northeast Khajuri Khas area on 2 June – one of the hottest months in Delhi when schools are on a two-month summer break.

The police action against the mother came a day after the disturbing video of the incident went viral on social media and prompted outrage and calls for action.

The video clip, apparently shot by a neighbour, showed the minor girl lying on the roof with her hands tied behind her back and twisting and turning in pain.

The neighbour in the video can be heard saying the girl was abandoned on the terrace at 2pm in the afternoon.

It is not known for how long the girl was left on the roof and if she suffered any injuries.

A case has been registered under section 75 of the Juvenile Justice Act (punishment for cruelty to child) and a police investigation is ongoing, reported news agency ANI.

Police officials said the mother, identified by her first name Sapna, admitted to punishing her daughter for not doing her homework.

The girl’s father, Raj Kumar, works as a tailor and said he had gone to get his bicycle repaired when the incident occurred.

His wife was at home with their two children, the girl and 11-year-old son.

The father said he rushed home when he received a call from his father and saw the girl tied on the terrace upon reaching.

“My wife got angry and punished her. When my father told me, I scolded my wife a lot that day but the next day, a relative from our village sent me the video. I scolded my wife,” Mr Kumar said.

Sunil, the girl’s uncle, claimed the children’s mother is hot headed and “beats her kids on every small issue”.

“If somebody from the family tries to meddle in between, she says that it is their kids and only she has rights over them. She was not like this before, she has become like this in the past two to three years,” he told ANI.

The incident comes as the ongoing year has been exceptionally brutal for residents of the national capital that remains in the throes of an unusually long series of heatwaves.

While Delhi traditionally braces for scorching months-long summers, the maximum temperature this time went up to 46C in some areas in June.