A 7-year-old Muslim boy was found murdered near his home in Azamgarh district, Uttar Pradesh, prompting widespread outrage and calls for justice from relatives, activists, and political leaders. Shahzeb had gone missing on Wednesday evening after attending tuition classes. His body was discovered the following morning, stuffed inside a sack and hanging from a gate in the Sidhari locality, according to police sources.
Local residents named a neighbor, Shailendra Kumar Nigam, also known as Mantu, as the suspected killer. Family members alleged that Nigam murdered Shahzeb as part of a “sacrifice” to a deity. Police are investigating all possible angles but did not confirm the alleged motive.
Saheb Alam, Shahzeb’s father, operates a hardware shop in the city and described his son as “studious and intelligent,” noting he was the eldest of three siblings. He expressed confusion over why the neighbor would harm their family: “We had good terms with the family. I don’t know why they did this to us,” he said.
An initial kidnapping report was filed at the Sidhari Police Station late Wednesday night, but by Thursday, family members reported that Shahzeb’s body had been found in a severely mutilated condition. His aunt, Sumaiyya, stated that the child was last seen in Nigam’s company on Wednesday evening, recalling, “When I asked him where my nephew was, he said he had dropped him. But Shahzeb never came back.”
Members of the Rashtriya Ulama Council (RUC) visited Shahzeb’s family and met with senior police officials, demanding strict punishment for those involved. RUC spokesperson Talha Rashadi expressed horror at the crime: “How can someone be so cruel to a child?”
Police confirmed the arrest of two individuals—Nigam and another man named Raja Nigam—on Thursday evening. They were apprehended during a joint operation by Siddharth and Mubarakpur police while allegedly attempting to flee near a dental college. Both were reportedly injured during what police described as an “encounter,” and officers recovered two pistols along with ammunition from them.
Senior police officials pledged to take “the harshest possible action” against the perpetrators, pending the results of the postmortem report.
The incident has sparked outrage across the state. Indian National Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera condemned the murder on social media, labeling it a “terror, plain and deliberate” act driven by hatred. Congress leader Sadaf Jafar remarked, “Another nail of despair has been hammered into the heart today in Azamgarh.”
Tags: Muslim boy murder, Azamgarh, police arrest, neighbour arrested, community outrage
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