Ayush and Ahaan were murdered at their home. Their brother Piyush managed to escape
The father of the two boys murdered in Uttar Pradesh's Budaun has urged police to ensure that Javed, a co-accused, is not shot dead in an encounter and is arrested and questioned to unearth why his brother Sajid committed the heinous crime.
Sajid allegedly slit the throats of Ayush, 11, and Ahaan, 6, at their home on Tuesday evening. The family has alleged that he tried to flee with Javed after the crime. While Javed managed to escape, Sajid was caught by local residents and handed over to police. He was later killed in an encounter. Javed has now surrendered to the cops and put out a video in which he says he's innocent.
"Javed must be questioned so that we know why they did this. If he is killed in an encounter, the secret will never come out. Others may be involved too. We need to know if my children were killed as part of a conspiracy. They would have killed others in the family too," Vinod, the father of the boys, has said.
"I want a full investigation into this. What was the reason behind the murder of my children? I appeal to (Prime Minister Narendra) Modi ji and Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath so that we know what happened," he said. Another son of Mr Vinod, Piyush (7), was also attacked but managed to escape in time.
He said he is satisfied with the police response so far. "I am just requesting them to ensure he (Javed) is not killed in an encounter so that the secret comes out. It is possible that others are behind this," he said, adding that he has no enmity with anyone.
Sajid and Javed, the family has said, ran a barber shop next to their home and knew them well. On Tuesday evening, Vinod's wife Sangita has said, Sajid came over to buy hair pins from a beauty parlour she ran. He then requested her to loan Rs 5,000. He said he needed the money because his pregnant wife was due for delivery.
Sangita has said she gave him the money and served him tea. He then went to the terrace and killed Ayush and Ahaan, she has said.
Sajid's family has said his wife is not pregnant and that the couple had earlier lost two children. His mother Najin has said she feels for the family that lost their two sons and that Sajid got what he deserved. Police have also questioned his family members as they try to identify the motive behind the chilling double murder.
Javed, who was on the run, has now surrendered to Bareilly police. In a video message, he has said, "I have call recordings of people informing me that my brother has done something. He was my elder brother, he has done it, I am innocent."
Police have confirmed his arrest. "Sajid's brother Javed, the second accused in the murder case, surrendered before cops in Bareilly and also made a viral video. Our team is now bringing him in for questioning," said Alok Priyadarshi, senior police officer from Budaun.