2nd accused arrested for Budaun double murder, kids stabbed multiple times

The brother of the main accused in the chilling murder of a neighbour's two children in Budaun was arrested after he surrendered at a police post in Bareilly, police said on Thursday.

The postmortem report of the slain children has revealed that the assailant stabbed the elder brother 13 times and his sibling 11 times, officials said, adding injury marks have been found on the neck, chest and other parts of bodies of the two children.

Javed, who had been absconding since the murders in Baba Colony on Tuesday, surrendered at Satellite police outpost of Baradari police station in neighbouring Bareilly district, Budaun Senior Superintendent of Police Alok Priyadarshi said.

"Javed, the brother of main accused Sajid, was arrested by a police team in nearby Bareilly district. He is being brought to Budaun for further questioning," the SSP said.

A video clip that surfaced online purportedly showed Javed pleading with a group of people confronting him to take him to the police.

In the video, Javed says that he fled to Delhi after the incident and returned to Bareilly to surrender before the police. The video was apparently shot at an autorickshaw stand close to the police post.

"I have nothing to do with the incident. He (Sajid) was my elder brother. He did that but I have nothing to do with the incident," Javed is heard saying in the video.

Bareilly SSP Dhule Sushil Chandrabhan told PTI that the district police handed over Javed to the Budaun police after completing formalities.

The Budaun police have taken Javed to places associated with the crime. Sources said that he would be produced in the court later.

Sajid, who had recently opened a barber shop in the locality, entered the house of the family known to him on Tuesday and allegedly attacked Ayush (12), Ahaan alias Honey (8) and Yuvraj (10) with a knife. Ayush and Ahaan died on the spot, while Yuvraj was admitted to the hospital.

Hours after the double murder, Sajid was gunned down in an encounter with the police.

Police have registered a case against both Sajid and Javed under Section 302 (murder) of the Indian Penal Code.

The Budaun district administration has also ordered a magisterial inquiry into Sajid's police encounter.

"The report on the encounter has to be submitted in 15 days," Budaun District Magistrate Manoj Kumar said.

On Wednesday evening, the police had announced a reward of Rs 25,000 for Javed's arrest.

Meanwhile, the children's father, Vinod Kumar, praised the police for Javed's arrest and called for stringent punishment to him.

"He should be asked who were involved with him because this incident is not of a single person," Kumar told PTI videos.

"He is equally involved in the crime. They can cut anyone's neck. Strictest action should be taken against him. He must be encountered or given capital punishment," he said.

The father also asked for police security for his family.

Kumar's wife Sangeeta told reporters that she wants police to interrogate Javed before her so that she could know "why my sons were killed".

As per the FIR, Sajid and his brother Javed reached the house of Vinod Kumar at around 7 pm.

Sajid told Sangeeta that he needed Rs 5,000 to pay the hospital for the delivery of his wife. When Sangeeta went inside to get the money, Sajid went to the rooftop of the house. Moments later, Javed also reached the rooftop and they called Ayush and Ahaan, according to the FIR.

The accused attacked the minors with a sharp knife. When they came downstairs, Sangeeta saw that their clothes were drenched in blood.

The mother of the accused brothers, Nazrin, however, told reporters on Wednesday that Sajid's wife is not pregnant.

"Sajid's wife is not pregnant and is not in hospital. I don't know why he made up the story and asked for money," she said.

With the general elections round the corner, the Budaun incident has triggered a war of words between the SP and the ruling BJP.

A delegation of Samajwadi Party leaders, including Aditya Yadav, met with the boys' family members on Thursday.

Aditya Yadav, who is son of Shivpal Singh Yadav, said, "Samajwadi Party is standing with the family members in these tough times. We all must ensure that the family gets justice."

Shivpal Yadav is the SP's candidate from the Budaun seat in the Lok Sabha elections.

BJP MP from Budaun, Sanghamitra Maurya, had visited the victims' house on the previous day and assured them her full support. "I condemn the murder of the two minor boys," she had said.

Referring to SP leaders' remarks on the incident, Maurya said this was not the time to do politics.

"Samajwadi Party is doing politics on the issue because its so-called fort of Budaun was demolished by people here in 2019. The SP candidate must have seen that there was no one asking about him in Budaun today. This is why they are doing politics on the issue," Maurya said.