A man has been arrested for murdering a 15-year-old Dalit boy who allegedly stole sugarcane from his field, the Hardoi district police said on Saturday.
Mukesh, a resident of Nai Basti under the Majhila police station jurisdiction, was on September 25, found dead in the sugarcane field of a neighbouring village.
“We have arrested the accused Ismail alias Nanga, a resident of Mujha village, and recovered the weapon used for the murder from him. The victim had earlier plucked sugarcane from Ismail’s field and the accused had warned him to not do it again. On the day of the incident, the deceased had again taken sugarcane from Ismail’s field, who murdered the victim in a fit of rage,” said Keshawa Chand Goswami, Superintendent of Police (Hardoi).
He added that examining CCTV footage in the nearby areas, the police’s suspicion turned towards Ismail. “After he was taken into custody and interrogated, he admitted to the crime,” the SP said.
Mr. Goswami also announced a reward of ₹10,000 to the investigating team led by Majhila Station House Officer Suvrat Narayan Tripathi and his team.
