10-Year-Old Strangled by 3 Neighbourhood Friends Over Wrist Watch

An altercation between teenage boys in Khoda led to the boy’s death, allegedly over a wrist watch.

A 10-year-old was strangled to death during a fight with three of his friends, who lived in the neighbourhood, over the deceased’s wrist watch.

The class 6 student was allegedly killed on 12 August at his home in Azad Nagar by three teenagers. He was left tied to his room’s door.

Sunny, the 10-year-old, was at home with his younger brother. Their parents and elder sister had gone for work. While they were away, three neighbourhood kids came home and allegedly strangled him to death. The three then left him in a sitting position outside his room with one end of a dupatta around his neck while the other was tied to the door.

The boy had a watch which the other three boys allegedly wanted. The fight has been termed a petty issue by and large, but was given a communal shade later on.

The FIR registered on 12 August by Raju, Sunny’s father, mentions that the incident took place around 12:30 PM on Sunday when Sunny’s father, mother and elder sister were not around. The FIR clearly specifies the wrist watch as the reason for the feud, and father has explained that he was informed over phone that his son had gotten into a fight and that he needed to come home.

“On reaching home, I found my son in a collapsed state, strangled with a cloth stole tied around his neck and the other end of the stole was tied to the door of his room.”

“My younger son Sagar used a pair of scissor to cut the stole. By then the police had arrived and we took Sunny to hospital where on reaching, he was declared dead,” the FIR filed by the father reads.

However, tempers in Khoda’s Azad Vihar flared on Monday when Sunny’s body was brought home where several demanded monetary compensation, a house and a job from one of the accused Muslim boy’s family, alleging that this was a murder carried out by a Muslim boy and that he was the one who had strangled Sunny.

The police, however, haven’t arrested the boys yet.

Even though the body was sent for post-mortem on Sunday and was with family on Monday, locals and the family in Azad Vihar refused to allow the body to be cremated.

The parents staged a protest on Azad Vihar road on the afternoon of 13 August and later took the body to the house of one of the accused boys – who is Muslim – demanding they be “compensated” for their son’s life.

Relatives confirmed that the neighbours refused to let the family cremate the body and demanded that Sunny’s family seek legal and financial remedy from the family of the Muslim boy, one among the three accused. Sunny’s uncle told The Quint:

The entire neighbourhood has come out in our support. Sunny’s father and mother have been asked to settle this with one of the three accused Muslim boys’ family.

Satyavir, Sunny’s uncle told The Quint

Sanjay Tiwari, ward councillor of Azad Vihar, told The Quint that the family has been assured financial compensation and one of the family members will also be given a job in the Municipal Council.

“This is not a Hindu-Muslim matter and should not be given any communal colour,” Tiwari said. Talking to The Quint, Khoda’s Superintendent of Police Dharmendra Kumar said the matter is strictly about a feud over a wrist watch and should not invite any other claim.

“The family has told us that the fight took place over a watch. The communal angle has been ruled out. We are looking into the matter,” Kumar said, adding that the accused will be tried as juveniles in the case.

Sunny's body was cremated later on 13 August after police intervention. None of the three juvenile accused have been arrested yet.