In a brutal incident, a local barber hacked two boys to death while critically injuring a third in an axe attack on Tuesday in Uttar Pradesh's Badaun. The two boys, identified as twelve-year-old Ayush and eight-year-old Ahaan died in the attack, while the third one, ten-year-old Yuvraj was rushed to a hospital with grievous wounds, said the officials.
According to police, the perpetrator, identified as Sajid, was gunned down in an encounter hours later.
In a bid to maintain law and order in the area after the killings, the Senior Superintendent of Police ordered reportedly ordered deployment of security.
According to the District Magistrate Manoj Kumar, the bodies of both the children have been sent for post mortem and the injured child has been admitted to the district hospital.
All about the double murder in UP's Badaun
Commenting on the incident, District Magistrate Manoj Kumar said a man who had recently opened a barber shop in the locality entered a house and attacked three brothers - Ayush, Ahaan, and Yuvraj.
The incident took place a few steps away from Mandi Police Post of Civil Lines Police Station.
According to IG Bareilly range RK Singh, the assailant identified as 22-year-old Sajid, was gunned down in an encounter hours later.
Sajid had decamped from the house after killing the boys, and was found wearing the same blood-soaked clothes when he was confronted by police, he said.
What all did the police say?
"Our team came to know about him and chased him. He was seen in the forest of Shekhupur. When our SOG and police station team reached there, he fired at them. In the retaliatory firing he received a bullet wound and died," Singh said.
The IG said Sajid entered the house, met the boys' grandmother, and went to the second floor where the boys were.
After the incident, the boys' family members and some local residents vandalised shops and damaged a motorcycle, he said.
Uttar Pradesh Director General of Police Prashant Kumar said, "The incident took place at around 8.00 pm, when a person named Sajid entered a house located opposite to his shop, and attacked the children there. Two children were killed, while one child was injured. He (Sajid) fled from the spot."
He added, "The police immediately acted, and cordoned him off. He also fired at the police, and in retaliatory firing by the police, he was injured, and later he died."
Kumar said the area is now peaceful and under the watch of IG Bareilly range RK Singh, ADG Bareilly zone, and Bareilly Divisional Commissioner.
"The incident took place due to personal enmity, and there is no communal angle to it. We are monitoring the situation, and our social media cell is also monitoring it," he said.
The DG said there was only one person involved in the attack, Sajid, and no other. It was earlier reported that there were two people involved in the attack.
"As per information received at the headquarters, only one person was involved - Sajid," Kumar said.
