New Delhi, March 14
In an incident that has sent shock waves through the city, a 10-year-old boy, who protested against his bicycle being damaged in an accident, was burnt alive in Alipur village allegedly by some members of a marriage party yesterday.
The shocking incident came to light when the charred body of Sanjeev, son of one Vijender Singh, was recovered from an agricultural field in the village on the outskirts of the city. The body has been sent for a post-mortem examination.
The recovery of the body led to tension in the area and the police detained five persons, including two cab drivers, for questioning, a police official said.
While the police said it was not yet clear as to what led to the murder, locals claimed the boy was hit by a vehicle of the marriage party damaging his cycle. The marriage party had come from Meerut in Uttar Pradesh.
The boy apparently demanded a compensation to get his cycle repaired and this infuriated the suspects. The four men reportedly came out of the car and beat him up before dragging him away to the field and setting him on
fire.
Sanjeev’s father said the family had been searching for him as he had not returned home at the regular time. “We could not find him anywhere and when we came here (near the spot where the body was recovered), we saw fire. We identified him by his legs, the distressed father said.
Some of the villagers told the police that they became suspicious of the marriage party as some of its members tried to flee after the accident in which a white Quails was involved. The villagers later attempted to stop the marriage and this led to tension in the area. Additional police force was rushed to the village and a case of murder had been registered.
