Sending the city into a shock-wave, a man named Malik along with two others Bilal and Imran, all in their late twenties, allegedly miffed for not being invited for an iftar party, shot three children identified as Abdul (8), Aasma (7) and Aleeba (8) belonging the host family in Bulandshahr, Meerut, Uttar Pradesh, reports Times of India.
Bullet-ridden bodies of the children were found floating in the reservoir of a tubewell, in Dhatoori village under Salempur police station, Meerut, on Saturday. The victims were last seen in Faisalabad locality of Bulandshahr on Friday night, 15 km away from where their bodies were recovered.
The SHO of Salempur police station, Avdhesh Awasthi told TOI that “All three have been shot dead. Bullet wounds on the bodies show that they were shot more than once. Bloodstains have been found at various spots near the crime scene.”
Malik is reportedly a distant relative of Hafiz Alam, father of one of the victims, who had organised the iftar party, and not invited Malik for the same. Aleeba’s father Alam confirmed, “Malik is a distant relative but he had nurtured enmity with our family due to property issues. We never thought he will go to this extent.”
The other two relatives who lost their children are Hakim, father of Abdul, and Jamshed, father of Aasma.
Meanwhile, Senior superintendent of police Bulandshahr N Kolanchi, who has constituted a team of four officers to investigate the matter said that he had suspended two policemen, including station house officer (SHO) of Bulandshahr Kotwali, for negligence.
Kolanchi said, “Primary investigation has revealed that Malik was miffed at not being invited to an iftar party hosted by the family. The children went missing at 9:30 pm on Friday. No action was taken by the local thana. So, I have suspended station SHO Dhruv Bhushan Dubey and constable Ashok Kumar with immediate effect.”
However, suspended SHO Dubey, who is yet to be relieved of his charge confirmed, “An FIR under IPC section 302 (murder) has been filed against Malik and the two others. Bilal has been arrested and efforts are on to arrest the remaining two”, said Dubey.
Recently in another incidence, communal tension had erupted in Meerut after a video showing Muslim men beating up shopkeepers went viral.