A 36-year-old woman was arrested by Melpatti police near Pernambut town in Vellore for the death of her six-year-old nephew in the house.

The police said the arrested person was identified as K. Revathi, a native of Melpatti village and aunt of R. Mugilan, the victim. Initial inquiry revealed that K. Rajesh, a wage labourer, was married to R. Asha and the couple had a son Mugilan.

The police said Rajesh’s mother, Vijaya, and Revathi used to take care of Mugilan in the house after the couple moved to Tiruppur to work in a private textile firm a few months ago.

The police said that Vijaya allegedly used to assault the boy regularly for his mischievous behaviour. Investigation revealed that after returning from a temple visit, Vijaya and Revathi found Mugilan climbing a wall. Revathi allegedly beat the boy severely.

The police said the boy reportedly collapsed on the floor. On being informed, Melpatti police reached the spot and sent the body to Government Medical College Hospital in Vellore for postmortem. A case was registered.

Due to lack of evidence, the police denied the claim that the boy was subjected to ritual murder coinciding with new moon day as claimed by a few relatives of the family. A detailed probe is under way.