2 cops booked for murder of Dalit boy, who was charged with theft, in Haryana

New Delhi: Two police officers have been booked for murder of a 15-year-old Dalit boy in Gohana town in Sonepat district of Haryana. The officers were accused of killing the child, who was charged with theft of a pigeon and was found dead under mysterious circumstances.

According to police, the teenager was found dead at his home in Gohana town, though the boy's family approached the police alleging that he died while in police custody.

"Family gave statement against two policemen. An FIR is registered against both of them and the probe is underway. No arrests been made so far," said Gohana DSP Satish Kumar.

Condemning the incident, Home Minister Rajnath Singh said, "I spoke to Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar regarding the incident. He has taken cognisance of that and is taking all appropriate measures."

The incident took place just a few days after two Dalit children were burnt alive in Faridabad's Sunped village.

The boy's family on Thursday clashed with the police in Gohana and placed the body on the road demanding action against the "erring cops".

Heavy police had been deployed in the area to control the situation.

"According to the preliminary investigations in the case, the boy was found dead at his home today. There was a mark around his neck. A post-mortem examination is underway and once its report comes, we can arrive at the conclusion how he died," Superintendent of Police, Sonepat, Abhishek Garg said.

Hitting out at the government, Congress leader PL Punia said, "Enquiry is not happening as demanded by the family. only seven people have been arrested so far."

Backing his party colleague, former Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda said, "Law and order situation is bad in Haryana. It looks like there is no government here. Gohana incident is very unfortunate. The poor man is suffering the most."

The Haryana government has come under attack over the two gruesome incidents with opposition training its guns towards the Chief Minister. And the controversial statements from senior BJP leaders is only adding more fuel to the fire.