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Budaun horror: 24 hours later, police still in the dark about motive
24 hours after two minor brothers were brutally murdered in Budaun, police are still trying to establish a motive. Suspected hate crime leaves many questioning radicalization or enmity.
LUCKNOW Even over 24 hours after the sensational murders of two minor brothers in Budaun, police on Wednesday were yet to establish a clear motive for what they suspected could be a hate crime.
Investigators, so far, have no clarity on what drove Mohd Sajid, who ran a barber shop across the victims’ house and was, in fact, on good terms with the family, to brutally attack Ayush and Aahan, aged 13 and 6 years, with a knife.
The FIR registered in the case said Sajid, 27, entered the house on the false pretext of seeking ₹5,000 for the treatment of his pregnant wife.
Three hours later, Sajid was killed in a police encounter when he was reportedly trying to flee. His brother Mohd Javed, also allegedly involved in the crime, was at large. The incident has left many discussing about possible radicalisation of the barber or an enmity with the family.
Speaking to media persons on Wednesday, Budaun superintendent of police (SP) Alok Priyadarshi said while police had not found any reason to believe that there was an old enmity or dispute between the accused and the victims’ family, but the way in which the crime was committed hinted that it could be a hate killing. “Some people are also talking about ‘tantra mantra’, but we have, so far, not found it to be the case.”
The SP said efforts were underway to arrest Javed as he could give some clarity over the motive for the killings. He said the minor brothers’ father, Vinod Kumar Singh, had mentioned in his complaint that Sajid told his wife Sangeeta that he had “completed his work” after slitting the throats of the two children. “Sajid and his brother Javed ran a barber shop across the victims’ house in Baba Colony of the city, and knew the family,” he added.
The barber brothers’ father Babu and uncle Kayamuddin, meanwhile, have been taken into police custody for questioning.
He said heavy police deployments were in place across the city after the incident came to light. He, meanwhile, added that a mob vandalised and set the barber’s shop afire. Locals blocked the Moradabad highway for some time. The victims’ bodies were taken for postmortem in the presence of a heavy police force.
What the FIR says
In the FIR, the victims’ father, Vinod Kumar Singh, mentioned that Sajid, who visited his house requesting financial help of ₹5,000 for his wife Sana’s delivery, attacked the two children after taking them to the third floor of the house. The children were playing while their mother was preparing tea in the kitchen. Sajid also tried to kill Piyush (9), Vinod’s second son, but he somehow managed to run away and alerted his mother and grandmother, who were present on the ground floor of the house, the SP stated narrating the sequence of the events mentioned in the FIR.
He said Piyush suffered injuries in one of his hands when he was attacked. He said Vinod, a contractor, was not in the house at the time of the incident. He said the incident took place around 7.30 pm on Tuesday and the accused was gunned down in a retaliatory firing by police around 10.30 pm.
He said the FIR stated people gathered outside the house after hearing the screams of the mother and saw Sajid coming down with a sharp-edged weapon in his hands and blood stains all over his clothes. Vinod said Sajid even tried to attack his wife and mother, but the women were rescued by the locals. At this time, Javed was present outside the house and disappeared shortly after.
Sajid’s wife denies pregnancy
Another police official privy to the investigation said Sajid’s wife Sana denied that she was pregnant and had any knowledge of the incident. She reportedly told police that she had been at her parents’ house for the last 15 days. The official added that it meant Sajid scripted a story of his wife’s pregnancy to enter the victims’ house and had a complete planning to commit the crime. He said Sajid married Sana six years ago but had no kids with her due to which he was a little troubled. The cop said the two brothers had been running the shop for the last 10 years.
Magisterial enquiry of encounter ordered
Budaun district magistrate (DM) Manoj Kumar has ordered a magisterial enquiry into the death of Sajid in a police encounter. He also ordered that the enquiry be completed, and its findings and recommendations submitted within 15 days.
Contrary to police claims, some locals claimed that Sajid was, in fact, caught by a crowd gathered outside the victims’ house.
