Maharashtra police have opened an assault case after security-camera footage showed a man repeatedly striking and biting a 12-year-old boy inside an elevator at the Patel Zenon housing complex in Ambernath, a township in Thane district. The altercation occurred on 4 July when the child, Tyagi Pandey, was travelling down from the 14th floor and pressed the close-door button; the suspect, identified as resident Kailash Thawani, entered on the ninth floor, slapped the boy, bit his hand and allegedly threatened further violence with a knife once outside. A housekeeping staff member halted the lift at the ground floor and helped the child exit, but the man reportedly continued the assault in the lobby. The boy’s mother filed a complaint the same day at Shivaji Nagar police station, yet officers initially recorded only minor, bailable offences. After local residents and the family criticised the response, authorities on 8 July added more serious, non-bailable charges against Thawani, who remains under investigation.