In a shocking incident, a minor Dalit boy was killed in Hardoi district just for allegedly stealing sugarcane from a field in the village. The accused was arrested. The superintendent of police (SP) has announced a cash reward of Rs 10,000 to the team that worked out the murder case.
As per reports, the victim, who was a Class V student, had gone to his school on September 25 but did not return home until late evening. While searching for him, his parents found his body lying in the sugarcane field of Shahabuddin, who is a resident of Mujha Mahra Para.
The victim was identified as Mukesh, who was the son of Rambachan, and a resident of Nai Basti area that falls under the Manjhila police station area. The police registered a case on the basis of a complaint by the father of the deceased and started an inquiry.
The police scanned CCTV footage in the area and also deployed a team to investigate the case. Four teams were deployed, as was a SWAT surveillance team, to investigate the case and nab the accused.
After a thorough investigation, the police zeroed in on a suspect, Ismail Khan. The police took him into custody and interrogated him on Saturday evening. The accused confessed to have murdered the child. Ismail said that he clubbed the kid for stealing a sugarcane from the field.
Meanwhile, a 16-year-old boy was smothered to death in Rajpur Khampur village on Friday allegedly by his friend after he asked him to return Rs 30, borrowed a few days ago.
Ritik Kumar, a student of Class XI living in Baghpat, had requested the accused to return his Rs 30 and it led to an argument between them. The incident occurred on a crowded road in Rajpur Khampur village under Baraut police station. Initially, the accused, accompanied by his uncle and two others, attacked Ritik. According to witnesses, the accused later ran away from the scene.
“We were having dinner when Ritik left the house and went to the shop of his friend’s uncle. By the time we came to know about the situation, it had turned ugly. They grabbed Kumar’s neck and allegedly killed him,” Ritik’s uncle Ghanshyam said.
Baraut SHO Devesh Kumar said, “Although no injuries were visible on the body, autopsy reports confirmed strangulation as the cause of death. An FIR under IPC Section 302 (murder) was lodged against the accused following a complaint by the victim’s family.”
Of the four accused, the minor was detained, and two were arrested. One person is yet to be identified, the SHO said.