10-year-old stabbed by neighbour 17 times, dies

A 10-year-old boy was stabbed over 17 times by his neighbour, described to be mentally-unstable by cops, when he was returning from a nearby shop after buying groceries early Tuesday.

Risty John, a Class 4 student, was returning home through a narrow deserted lane when Aji Devassia (40) attacked the boy without any provocation. Ani Jose, who was collecting water from the public tap along the lane, screamed when saw the boy being stabbed repeatedly. Soon, residents chased the attacker and beat him up before handing him over to the police.

“At first, it seemed to me that he was embracing the boy. As the kid fell, I realised to my shock that the boy was being stabbed. I shouted at the top of my voice but he continued to stab the boy in his neck and face. The poor kid couldn’t even cry,” said Ms Jose, whose younger son is a close friend of the victim.

The boy’s parents rushed in as the news spread and it was his mother Lini who took out the knife from his neck. His father John, an autorickshaw driver, rushed his son to a nearby hospital where he was declared brought dead.

Later the autopsy report said the boy suffered a total of 27 injuries, including 17 stab wounds on his neck and face.