Police shot dead a man accused of murdering two boys aged 12 and 6 in Budaun district of Uttar Pradesh on Tuesday. A mob set ablaze a shop belonging to the accused man.
Tension gripped Badaun district as news of the murder spread. The accused man, Mohd. Sajid, is said to have slit the throats of the minors who were brothers and also injured a third brother, aged 8, who managed to escape and share the horror with his parents.
The accused, who runs a barber’s salon near the victims’ house, had killed the boys on their own terrace. The accused was known to the family.
An angry mob gathered after pictures of the bodies started making rounds on social media. The mob set shops run by people of the minority community on fire and also tried to barge inside the religious place of the community.
Police teams were deployed in the area to control the law and order situation.
Bareilly Inspector General Rakesh Kumar said that police immediately rushed to the spot and managed to catch the accused who attempted to flee. “In a bid to escape, the accused fired at the police and was killed in retaliatory fire,” he said.
According to PTI, the FIR states that the man had gone to the family’s home seeking money for payment to a hospital where his pregnant wife is admitted. The deceased’s father Vinod Kumar, accused Sajid and his brother Javed reached the house at around 7 p.m. on Tuesday.
“Sajid told my wife Sangeeta that he needed Rs 5,000 which is required for the delivery of his wife. When my wife went inside to get the money, Sajid went to the roof of the house. Moments later, Javed also reached the roof and they called my two sons Ayush, 12, Ahaan alias Honey, 8 on the roof,” reads the FIR.
The accused attacked the minors with a sharp knife. The mother of the two boys saw that the clothes of the accused were drenched with blood when they came downstairs.
(With inputs from PTI)
Published - March 20, 2024 12:49 am IST