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Meerut (UP), Jun 11 (PTI): A woman here has accused her former husband of encouraging their eight-year-old son to smoke cigarettes and allegedly recording videos of the child to share on social media platforms, police said on Thursday.

According to police, the woman, identified as Gazala, a resident of the Lohianagar area, has filed a complaint alleging that her son, who lives with her former husband, Kaleem, following their divorce, has fallen into bad company and is not being properly cared for.

She alleged that Kaleem makes their child smoke cigarettes, records videos of him, and uploads them to Instagram.

She has sought police intervention to ensure the child's safety and requested that his custody be given to her.

Gazala married Kaleem, a resident of Shyam Nagar, in 2014, and they have children together. Following a family dispute, the couple divorced in January 2026, at which point their eight-year-old son stayed with his father.

Gazala claimed to possess the videos showing the child smoking cigarettes. She also alleged that her former husband had earlier been jailed in a narcotics-related case and was now jeopardising the child's future.

She further alleged that adequate attention was not being paid to the boy's education and upbringing.

The complainant also alleged that when she visited her son on June 8, she was abused, assaulted and threatened with death by her former husband and his family members.

Circle Officer Abhishek Kumar Patel told PTI that the complaint was received on Wednesday and an inquiry was underway.

"The child is seen smoking in the video shown by the woman, but her former husband is not visible in the footage," Patel said.

"The video shows the child smoking inside a room alone. The woman alleges that her former husband is leading the child astray. We are examining all aspects of the matter, and further action will be taken based on the inquiry findings," he added. PTI CORR ABN MPL MPL

(This story is published as part of the auto-generated syndicate wire feed. No editing has been done in the headline or the body by ABP Live.)