India Shining: Humanity, Indian style. 10 yr boy killed for delaying wedding

Indian boy killed for delaying wedding guests

14 March 2008

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NEW DELHI - A 10-year-old boy was allegedly set on fire and killed after he stopped a group of people on their way to a wedding in the northern suburbs of the Indian capital, news reports said on Friday.

When the boy, Sanjeev, stopped a car that had hit his bicycle and demanded compensation, the men inside got out and beat him, the IANS news agency reported.

The men then dragged him to a nearby field where they dumped him on a heap of cow-dung cakes, which are used as fuel, and set him on fire, the report said, quoting witnesses.

Local residents rushed to douse the flames Thursday night but were unable to save the boy. The men were reportedly drunk and were from Meerut, a city in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh about 80 kilometres north-east of New Delhi. They were part of the groom's entourage to the wedding being held in the same area.

"They were drunk and set my son on fire," Vijender Singh, the boy's father, was quoted as saying. "Police must arrest the killers, or we would not spare them."

Hundreds of villagers staged a demonstration at the police station at Alipur, where the incident occurred, and stopped the wedding. They also blocked the adjoining highway for hours in protest. "We have registered a case of murder and have sent teams to Meerut to find the members of the wedding party," senior police official Dinesh Kumar was quoted as saying. "Five people have been detained, and further investigations are under way."

The situation in the area was reported to be tense Friday, and the police deployed additional forces to maintain law and order.