UP: 8-Year-Old Mathura Boy Killed in Crossfire Between Cops, Criminals
Over 900 encounters have been carried out by the UP police since March, 2017.
Mathura, Jan 18: An eight-year-old boy was killed in an encounter in Uttar Pradesh's Mathura district on Wednesday. The deceased, identified as Madhav Bharadwaj, was caught in a cross-fire during a gunfight between the police and criminals in Aduki village.
Action will be taken against the policemen if they are responsible, said SSP Mathura Swapnil Mamgain. He, however, claimed that no FIR has been registered yet by the boy's kin.
Villagers, speaking to reporters, said the boy was playing with his friends after a bullet struck him on the head. They could not confirm whether the fatal bullet was fired by the cops or the criminals involved in the encounter.
The gunfight began yesterday after the Mathura Highway Police team was reportedly tipped about the presence of the criminals, wanted in high-profile robbery cases.
After the boy was hit by the bullet, some of the policemen accompanied his family to take him to the hospital. However, they got down from the vehicle near Nevada, HT reported, as they were called back for the encounter which was still underway.
After being informed about the incident, the SSP and other officials of Mathura Police rushed to the hospital to enquire about the incident. The boy, however, died by 8:30 pm.
"A case will be registered under Section 302 of Indian Penal Code for murder and also for negligence if the cops refused to take the injured child to hospital,” the SSP said.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jan 18, 2018 01:03 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).