UP boy beaten to death in bid to save cousin from molestation

A 15-year-old boy was allegedly beaten to death with sticks with his family alleging that he was attacked when he opposed an attempt to molest his cousin, police said Tuesday..

Local residents turned out to protest after the killing in the Kheri police station area on Monday. Additional police force was called in as the incident began to take on a communal colour.

Police Commissioner Ramit Sharma told PTI that five people, including village head Yusuf and school student Mohsin, have been apprehended.

Station House Officer Naveen Kumar Singh and a police post in-charge were suspended, he said.

Earlier, SHO Singh said the family members alleged that some youths attacked the class 10 student when he tried to stop them from molesting his cousin, while the two children were returning from school.

The boy was taken to hospital in a serious condition and declared dead there.

Prayagraj District Magistrate Sanjay Kumar Khatri said the matter will be investigated by a competent police officer, and that the district administration has spoken to the Chief Minister's Office on the matter.

The last rites of the boy have been performed, Khatri added.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (Yamuna Nagar) Santosh Kumar Meena said there was a brawl between children at school. The teachers had intervened and pacified them.

But there was a fight on the way after they left the school, he added.

Meena said a case was registered after the family filed a complaint. Yusuf and Mohsin were named in the FIR.

Local people blocked a road for some time after the incident but were later cleared away, police said.

A large number of police personnel have been deployed as a precautionary measure to maintain law and order in the area, officials said.

DCP Meena also said that the post-mortem examination of the deceased has been completed.