The distress video of a young girl alleging that she was being tortured by her stepmother and father at home is currently spreading shockwaves in the Whatsapp communities.

The video of Lavanya, an eighth grade student of a reputed school in the city, was making the rounds on several Whatsapp groups. In the video, the girl, who is currently living with her biological father D.R. Mani, biological brother Vishwa, and her stepmother, claims that she was being mentally and physically tortured when she returns home from her boarding school for vacation.

D.R. Mani had divorced his first wife (the biological mother of the girl) and had got married to Devaki. The couple now has a child. They live in Siddhapudur. Lavanya is a boarding student at a private school.

Her biological brother Vishwa is also a boarding student at the Laidlaw Memorial School and Junior College, Ketti. Lavanya says that Vishwa visits home just three times in a month, and the school that she studies in sends all the boarding students home two days in a week.

Lavanya says that when she returns home on the weekends, she was being subjected to physical and emotional torture by her father and her stepmother. She claims in the video that her stepmother verbally abuses her and also makes her clean the toilet. She is also seen constantly sobbing in the video as she talks about the torture that she undergoes at the hands of her stepmother and father.

The Whatsapp text, believed to having being written by Lavanya herself, has stunned the online community. She says that she was not given adequate care when she was down with chickenpox. She claims that one day she will be killed by her father and stepmother. She also says that her father is an alcoholic and abuses her under the influence of liquor.

She says that she had almost attempted suicide while in hostel and that it was her friends who had stopped her.

The video was apparently filmed before she left her hostel on a short break. Lavanya’s biological mother was unavailable for comment when she was contacted. The mother had reportedly approached the police for help.