Minor boy killed after he refuses to fetch snacks for men drinking together

A 14-year-old boy, who had refused to fetch snacks for a group of men drinking alcohol together, was stabbed multiple times, leaving him dead near his house in south-east

A 14-year-old boy, who had refused to fetch snacks for a group of men drinking alcohol together, was stabbed multiple times, leaving him dead near his house in south-east Delhi’s Madanpur Khadar on Wednesday evening.

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Police have arrested one of the men who was in the drinking group for the murder. On Thursday, a group of residents and the boy’s family members took to the road protesting against the murder, after which police increased deployment in the area.

The boy who died was identified as Mohammad Alqash, a resident of Madanpur Khadar. His father works as a roadside vendor in the same neighbourhood, police said.

According to the police, the incident took place 4.30pm Wednesday and the police control room was alerted around 5pm. The caller told the police that a minor boy had been injured in a fight and rushed to Apollo Hospitals in a critical condition.

A police team reached the hospital and found that Alqash had been stabbed multiple times by some men in Madanpur Khadar and was pronounced dead at the hospital. The boy had multiple stab wounds on his chest and neck. His body was sent for a post-mortem examination and a crime and forensics team inspected the scene of crome.

During the preliminary probe, statements of witnesses were recorded and police found that Alqash was going out when he was stopped by one Shadab Qureshi, a resident of his neighbourhood. “As told by locals, Shadab, who was drinking, asked Alqash to bring for him some snacks from a nearby shop, but the boy refused. Witnesses said Shadab then started thrashing the boy. When he raised the alarm and tried to flee, Shadab took out a knife and stabbed him multiple times in his chest and his neck,” said a police officer, who wished not to be named.

A case of murder was registered and a police team searched possible hideouts of Shadab and arrested him.

Deputy commissioner of police (south-east) RP Meena said, “The child’s family members and some locals have alleged that there was a group of men with Shadab at the time of the murder. We are verifying the claims and the incident is being probed from all possible angles. CCTV footage from the area is also being checked to establish the sequence of events.”

He said Shadab also had a case of culpable homicide registered against him in 2015.