India, Jan. 4 -- A shocking case of child cruelty has been reported from Nagpur in Maharashtra where a 12-year-old child was allegedly chained and confined by his parents inside his home in Rameshwari area, an ordeal that lasted for several hours daily over the past two months. The parents resorted to extreme punishment as the child would repeatedly steal mobile phones, police told HT.

The child is said to be a school dropout and was rescued on Friday after the Maharashtra government's women and child development department and the Nagpur police received information about the alleged confinement of the child. The child has been shifted to a government-run children's home, where he is undergoing medical treatment and counselling.

The cas...