Teen murdered in spat over dates

LUCKNOW: A minor argument over ‘stealing’ of dates culminated into murder of 17-year-old boy on Thursday morning on the outskirts of the city.
A resident of Khajaoli village in Mohanlalganj area, Raj Dulari (30) was plucking dates and collecting them in a basket when Ravi Yadav (13), who was grazing cattle nearby, picked up some of the dates. This infuriated Dulari so much that she thrashed the boy and bit him.She also hit Ravi with a trowel (khurpi) and he started bleeding.
The boy rushed home and informed his kin after which Ravi’s brothers Pankaj (17) and Sheru rushed towards Dulari’s house. Meanwhile, Dulari along with her mother Saroj (50) and brother Dinesh headed towards Ravi’s house. The two sides came face to face and clashed. Saroj and Dulari attacked Pankaj with the trowels repeatedly, injuring him in the neck, abdomen and legs. After the brutal attack, the trio went on to strangle Pankaj.
Meanwhile, Sheru raised an alarm and villagers gathered at the spot. The group of three managed to escape from the spot. The angry villagers kept the body near Khajaoli police outpost and demanded action against the trio. Traffic movement was paralysed and PAC personnel were called in to control the situation.
The villagers were upset as Pankaj was the only earning member in the family after his father died. Moreover, it was alleged that the mother-daughter duo had been lodging fabricated cases against higher caste individuals from the same village.
The police formed teams and combed the suspected hideouts to trace the trio. Dulari and Saroj were eventually overpowered and handed over to police. Circle officer of Mohanlalganj area, Rajesh Yadav, said that efforts to nab Dinesh were on. Dulari was physically challenged, he added. “This is the first case of its kind in my life. Over something as small as dates, such brutal murder and tension in the village is unprecedented,” he said.