Pankaj Kumar, a Dalit youth was allegedly strangulated to death in Kamalpur village of Muzaffarnagar. The body was found near a tubewell outside the village on Thursday, police said. According to Vijay Pratap Singh, Circle Officer, Budhana, Kumar was missing since Wednesday night. Three people have been detained so far, Mr. Singh said.
“The body was found near a tubewell outside the village on Thursday morning with the help of dog squad,” Mr. Singh said. He said prima facie it seemed like a case of strangulation but the police were waiting for the post mortem report. “The motive of the murder is being investigated. Pankaj lived with his sister and mother in the village. The family suspects three youths from the Dalit community. We have detained Ramesh Kumar and two others for interrogation,” said Mr Singh, adding samples picked up from the spot suggest that liquor was consumed there.