Boy refuses to fetch cigarettes, man shoots him on pretext of clicking selfie

The incident took place in Ghaziabad’s Dasna locality. Angry over Junaid’s refusal to fetch cigarettes, accused Kale called the boy on the pretext of taking a selfie and shot him in the eye

A 25-year-old man, who was allegedly drunk, shot an eight-year-old boy who refused to fetch a packet of cigarettes from a local shop in Ghaziabad. The bullet caught the boy in his eye and pierced into his head. He is stated to be in a critical condition at a hospital in Delhi.

Eight-year-old Junaid was shot by Kale after he refused to fetch him a packet of cigarettes. (Sakib Ali/HT photo)

Mohammad Nizamuddin, the maternal grandfather of victim Junaid, said the boy had skipped school after Eid and was at home when accused Kale, alias, Tahir asked him to fetch a packet of cigarette from a shop in Dasna locality near NH-24.

“The boy refused. Kale had been seen loitering around in a drunk state with some other men since Sunday. After saying no, Junaid came back home. Meanwhile, Kale and his friends, who were carrying a country-made weapon, started taking selfies. Just then, Junaid moved out of the house and they called him,” Nizamuddin said.

Junaid and Kale are neighbours and the incident took place at Dudhiya Peepal locality in Dasna on Monday afternoon.

“Kale was already angry over Junaid’s refusal. He called Junaid on the pretext of clicking a selfie. The boy went to him this time, hoping that his picture will be clicked. Kale pointed the mobile phone at Junaid to click his picture and opened fire. The bullet has hit his eye and injured his head. We took him to two private hospitals in Ghaziabad but they asked us to take him to a bigger hospital,” he added.

Police said that the boy was critical and had been operated upon at a hospital in Delhi.

“Kale was nabbed by locals and handed over to police. We also recovered the weapon used by him in crime. On being questioned he told us that he was taking a picture of Junaid and the weapon got accidentally triggered off. However, we will go by what the family has alleged in their complaint. A crime has been committed and FIR would be lodged,” said Atish Kumar Singh, circle officer (Masuri).

Junaid is fifth among six siblings and had skipped school on Monday. He was playing with his friends when he was called by accused Kale to fetch a packet of cigarette. Kale is from Farid Nagar and had been staying on rent in Dasna for past 10-11 years.