Woman detained for thrashing 7-year-old for ‘ring and run’ prank

Surat: A 40-year-old woman was detained by Sarthana police after being booked for allegedly assaulting a seven-year-old boy in her housing society for repeatedly ringing her doorbell as part of a prank commonly known as "ring and run."The woman, a resident of Silicon Residency in the Sarthana police station area, allegedly assaulted the child on Jan 9. Police registered the case after CCTV footage of the incident went viral on social media.According to police, the woman lives in the C-3 block of the society. At around 10pm, a group of children reportedly rang her apartment bell several times and ran away, a mischievous act often indulged in by children. Irritated by the repeated disturbance, she went down to the society premises where the children were playing.Police said she singled out the seven-year-old boy after being told by others that he was the one who had rung the bell. She allegedly beat him and dragged him to the society's parking area.The child suffered injuries to multiple parts of his body. When the boy's mother confronted her over the assault, she allegedly threatened to repeat her actions if the child continued to disturb her.Following the incident, the boy's parents approached Sarthana police and submitted CCTV footage.Sarthana police inspector B B Karpada said, "We detained her after she admitted to the act. She was later released on bail after apologising. She also recorded a video message assuring that she would not behave in this manner again and appealed to parents and children to avoid such pranks in the future."