In a cold-blooded murder, a 22-year-old barber allegedly slit the throat of two minor boys who were playing in their house in Sakhanu village in Badaun district, Uttar Pradesh.
The incident occurred on Tuesday evening, March 19. The accused – Mohammed Sajid – cut the throats of 12-year-old Ayush and 8-year-old Ahaan, alias Honey with a razor blade.
Based on a police complaint by the deceased boys’ father, police lodged an FIR and immediately launched a search operation for the accused.
“Sajid was killed in a retaliatory fire in Shekupur area, about 7 km from the victims’ house,” Inspector General of police, Bareilly range, Rakesh Singh told reporters.
The senior officer added that along with Sajid, his brother Javed was also named in the FIR. “The brothers have been booked under IPC sections 452 (House-trespass after preparation for hurt, assault, or wrongful restraint), 302 (murder), and 307 (attempt to murder),” he told reporters.
Police have not confirmed the motive behind the incident.
What happened?
According to the FIR lodged after a complaint by Vinod Kumar, the father of the deceased boys, prime accused Sajid and his brother Javed reached the house at around 7 pm 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.
“When my wife came out with the money, she saw Sajid and Javed coming downstairs with a knife. Seeing my wife, they said ‘I have done my work today’ and tried to escape from the spot,” reads the FIR.
The accused also attacked the third son 10-year-old Piyush who had gone upstairs to fetch water. Yuvraj is admitted to the hospital and his condition is said to be stable.
Vinod Kumar, a private contractor, was out of the district at the time of the incident. Apart from his wife Sangeeta, his mother was present at the house.
Accused’s father, uncle detained
On Wednesday, March 20, police detained Sajid’s father and uncle for questioning. “We have detained one Babu, the father of Sajid and Javed and their uncle Kayamuddin for questioning. The move is part of our efforts to arrest Javed who is absconding,” said Budaun’s Senior Superintendent of Police Alok Priyadarshi.
Police did the right thing: Accused’s mother
On Wednesday, the mother of Sajid and Javed, Nazarin, spoke to IANS and justified police action against her son. “There was no enmity between them and the deceased boys’ family. On that day, both of them ate dinner and left the house. We had no idea what was running in their minds. They seemed very normal,” she said.
“I feel pained when I think about the little boys. They (Sajid and Javed) should not have done this. If they have committed the murders, they should be punished. The police did the right thing,” the mother said.
No idea behind the murders
Piyush, the surviving brother has now become the prime eyewitness in the case. Speaking to ANI, he said he is unaware of why Sajid and Javed targeted him and his brothers.
“The man (Sajid) from the salon had come here. He took my brothers upstairs; I don’t know why he killed them. He tried to attack me, too, but I pushed away his knife, pushed him away and ran down. I suffered injuries in my hand and head…Two people had come,” ANI quoted the surviving brother as saying.
Vinod Kumar also has no idea why Sajid wanted to kill his children. “There were two people. I live outside. We had no interaction with them before. We are unaware as to why this happened. I am also unaware of the encounter. He (accused Sajid) was trying to run away but the police caught him,” Vinod said.
The last rites of the two boys were performed after a post-mortem examination in the morning. There was heavy police presence at Kachchla Ghat during the rites, officials said.
Heavy police presence
According to local reports, since the prime accused belonged to the minority community, heavy police were deployed soon after.
There have been reports of Sajid’s shop being vandalised by angry locals. Two makeshift shops were also set on fire.
UP govt spares no one: Union minister
Speaking on the double murder case, Union minister Giriraj Singh said, “Be it Hindu or Muslim, whoever has tried to take the law into his own hands in Uttar Pradesh has not been spared by CM Yogi Adityanath. The accused of Badaun has been brutally punished. He committed murder and also attacked the police, hence he was encountered.”
BJP MP from Budaun, Sanghamitra Maurya, visited the victims’ house and assured them her full support. “I condemn the murder of the two minor boys,” she said.
Bone-chilling, says Oppn
Meanwhile, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav slammed the Uttar Pradesh government in the state, saying the children’s lives could have been save if the police had done their job.
“They (BJP government) can’t hide their shortcomings. This encounter is not going to hide their failure, ” he said referring to the encounter during which Sajid was shot dead
Party MLA Shivpal Singh Yadav pointed at the failure of law and order under the Yogi Adityanath rule. “This is a very sad incident. Law and order under this government have completely failed. Encounter (of the accused) has been done, so how will the case be unearthed now?” he asked reporters.
On the encounter, he said, “I congratulate the district and police administration for the action but the truth behind the incident must also come out.”
Samajwadi Party MP Ram Gopal Yadav said, “BJP always makes violence happen at the time of elections.”
Congress leader Pramod Tiwari said that the murder was bone-chilling and urged the strictest punishment for the accused. “It is an absolutely shocking incident. This shows that there is no law and order left in Uttar Pradesh. Strict action should be taken against the culprits,” he told PTI.
(With inputs from agencies)
