Quite disappointing
He wanted to become a police officer, was our only hope: Kin of Dalit boy killed in UP for stealing sugarcane
“He was very good at studies and wanted become a police officer. He was the only one our family depended on to help us get out of poverty,” said Seema (22), whose 15-year-old brother Mukesh was killed in Uttar Pradesh’s Hardoi for stealing sugarcane from the farm of a man in their village.
Mukesh, a Dalit boy, was allegedly killed by Ismail (23) on Tuesday after the teenager apparently stole a sugarcane shoot from Ismail’s field. Police arrested Ismail on Friday on charges of murder and under the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.
The incident was reported from Para village under the Majhila police station limits. The police say that Ismail was angry at the teenager for allegedly stealing sugarcane from his field and had threatened him a few days before the incident.
“The teenage boy had in the past too picked up sugarcane from the field to eat. Around three days before the incident, Ismail had gone to his house and complained to his sister about it and threatened to kill him if he does it again. The family of the teenager didn’t take it seriously. But Ismail on Tuesday found the boy stealing sugarcane from his field and attacked with him with an iron rod on his head, resulting in his death,” said Station Officer Suvrat Narayan.
Mukesh was returning after taking an examination at a private school where he studied. His family told The Indian Express that they had sent him to the private school for better education. “Mukesh was a bright student and was in Class 7. We recently transferred him to a private school because he wasn’t happy with the government school. He was the only hope for the family,” said Mukesh’s cousin Indrajit (22).
“On Tuesday, he had gone to school like he did every day. He really liked school. Sometimes, we would say jokingly that he could miss schools sometimes, but he would get angry saying that he has to go to school if he is to become a police waala. On Tuesday, he didn’t return till late afternoon, and we began searching for him and his body was found in the field of Ismail,” said Indrajit.
Mukesh is survived by four sisters, a brother who is mentally challenged and his parents. His father Ram Basan is a daily-wage labourer.
Mukesh’s body was found in Ismail’s field on Tuesday evening, after which the local police reached the spot and started investigating. On checking CCTV footage from nearby places, it was found that Ismail was near the field when the incident happened.
Ismail was then questioned and he eventually confessed that he had killed the teenager for stealing sugarcane repeatedly. “He had hidden the rod with which he had attacked the boy in a nearby field, and we recovered that after arresting him on Friday,” said Narayan, who led the investigation.
He was sent to judicial custody after his arrest.
Asad Rehman – 2023-09-30 15:14