Hyderabad: A four-year-old boy who was battling for his life after his father allegedly tried to kill him near Pillar No. 104 of the PV Narasimha Rao Expressway has died, days after the attack left him critically injured.

The boy, Armaan, succumbed to his injuries on Tuesday, August 11, while undergoing treatment at a hospital, prompting police to convert the case into one of murder. His father, Salman, 25, a resident of Golconda, was already in custody in connection with the assault and remains the sole accused.

The attack took place on the morning of August 5 under Gudimalkapur police station limits. According to police, Salman struck the boy’s head against the pillar with a stone before lifting him and throwing him to the ground. He then allegedly tried to push the child under a moving lorry, but nearby residents intervened, overpowered him and alerted the police, who took him into custody at the scene.

Police said Salman had a history of alcohol abuse and had been locked in repeated disputes with his wife. Investigators believe he had come to see his son as an obstacle to resolving the marital conflict and had planned the attack. He had reportedly told family members that morning that he was taking Armaan to relatives in Aramghar before instead heading to the expressway.

A case was registered soon after the assault, and with the boy’s death, police have now taken up a fresh investigation to establish the sequence of events leading up to it. Further details on the charges against Salman are awaited.