Police probe enmity angle in 9-yr-old Sanjeev’s murder

Police say that the boy might have been sexually assaulted before being killed and are exploring the possibility of enmity behind the ghastly crime, reports Vijaita Singh.

In a spine-chilling incident, a nine-year-old boy was strangled and his body was dumped in a stack of straw that was set on fire in Alipur area of North West Delhi on Thursday night. Sanjeev, the victim, was last seen around 7.45 pm.

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Police said the boy might have been sexually assaulted before being killed and were exploring the possibility of enmity behind the ghastly crime. The police had detained an employee of the boy's father on Friday morning and were probing his role in the crime.

On Thursday night, angry relatives and family members stormed a marriage function being solemnised in nearby Suragpur village reacting to rumours that someone from the village had killed the boy. Six vehicles were vandalised and incident of stone pelting reported.

“Someone told us that Sanjeev has met with an accident so we rushed to Suragpur village. We could not trace him. Someone noticed smoke billowing out from a heap of straw in the wheat field opposite the marriage pandal. The body was charred and all that we could recover were his limbs,” said Jai Singh, uncle of the victim. Sanjeev's body was recovered around 11.15 pm from the wheat field.

Sanjeev, son of a transporter in Bakhtawarpur village, went missing around 7.45 pm on Thursday. His two sisters, Smriti (14) and Kavita (13), were away at their maternal uncle's house when the incident took place. His mother Neelam and grandmother Suraj Singh were present in the house and his father Vijender Singh had not returned from work.

“He left home on his bicycle. I had seen him going towards Suragpur village. I even asked him whether he was coming from the marriage function but he said he has not been invited,” said Ankit, a friend of Sanjeev who saw him last.

The victim was a student of Class II at Rishi Kul Public School and he had appeared for his exam on Thursday. “He had an exam on Friday too. After he returned from school, he took Rs 10 from me and said he wanted to have chole kulche from the nearby bazaar. After he returned from the market, he asked me to prepare rice for dinner,” said Sunder Singh, Sanjeev's grandmother.

Police said based on the allegations of the villagers, they have detained five people including the bridegroom but released them on Friday morning when nothing concrete was found against them.

On Friday morning, villagers blocked traffic on GT Karnal road and shouted anti-police slogans. Paramilitary police force had to be rushed in to control the situation.

Police said they have registered a case of murder at the Alipur police station and have started investigation.