A six-year-old boy was allegedly kicked, punched and fatally assaulted with a metal cooking ladle by his mother’s paramour, who saw the child as an obstacle to his private moments and illicit relationship with the woman after the two met on social media recently, police said on Monday.Police said Prashant had been staying at the woman’s house for about five days before the incident. (Representational image)Police arrested the accused, Prashant Singh alias Gaurav Singh, 26, on Monday, a day after the child’s death and claimed to have recovered the ladle allegedly used in the assault. The victim’s mother, Poonam Devi, is also been named in the FIR, though police said her role is still being investigated.According to SHO (Madiaon) Shivanand Mishra, Prashant, a native of Ayodhya who worked as a labourer in Kanpur, came in contact with Poonam through Instagram few months ago. “The two developed a relationship and Prashant would frequently visit Lucknow and stay at her rented accommodation when her husband was away for work,” he added.“During interrogation, Prashant said he and Poonam wanted privacy and that the child often interrupted them. Police alleged that the accused was insistent on having repeated sexual encounters with the woman and considered the boy a hindrance whenever he visited,” the SHO said.Police said Prashant had been staying at the woman’s house for about five days before the incident. “During that period, he allegedly assaulted the child repeatedly after Poonam left for work. On the day of the incident, the assault allegedly turned fatal when the boy was kicked, punched and assaulted with a metal ladle,” said the SHO.The victim’s father, Dinesh Kumar, lodged a complaint on July 5, naming both Prashant and Poonam. Based on the complaint, police registered a murder case under Section 103(1) of the BNS. Prashant was arrested near the Madiaon railway bridge after police received a tip-off that he was planning to flee.