What Happened in Last 24 Hours in UP’s Budaun Double Murder Case?

New Delhi: Tension gripped Uttar Pradesh's Budaun district after a salon owner identified as Sajid allegedly killed two children — Honey and Ayush — in his neighbourhood. The disturbing incident occurred on Tuesday evening when the two children, aged around 11 and 6 years, were playing on the terrace when the accused barged into their house and allegedly slit the throat of two kids using a sharp weapon.  

According to the FIR lodged in the matter, the accused Sajid who allegedly murdered the two children was known to the deceased's family and he had gone to their house demanding money on the pretext of his wife's delivery. Meanwhile, Sajid stated that his wife was going to deliver around 11 pm and went to the terrace stating, 'Mann Ghabra Raha hai..."

 It was during that time when Sajid allegedly managed to commit the crime. He called Javed inside, who as per reports, was waiting outside on the bike. In the meantime, Sajid allegedly launched an attack on the three brothers Ayush (12) Honey (8) and Piyush (10) with a knife. The victim's mother only saw her two kids loathed in blood when she came back with the money and the victims were rushed to the hospital. Piyush managed to escape but received minor injuries and was hospitalised.  

The probe revealed that the Sajid, who managed to flee from the crowd after allegedly committing the heinous crime, couldn't run away from the clutches of the cops as he was killed in retaliatory fire. The other accused Javed is still on the run and SSP Alok Priyadarshi while commenting on the harrowing incident stated, "Four teams have been formed, which are following up on the case." The SSP added that the murder weapon and the revolver that had been used to commit the crime had been recovered.

In the FIR, the family of the deceased children has also named the accused's brother Javed. 

Speaking exclusively to Republic, the mother of Sajid, the one who died in the police encounter, said, "Whatever happened to them was due to the wrong they did. Neither would they have done this, nor would this have happened." 

Furthermore, she was clueless when she was questioned about Javed, the second accused's whereabouts. The woman, identified as Najin, said she had no clue what could have led her sons to commit the brutal crime.  

Political reactions pour in

After the brutal murder, which shocked Uttar Pradesh, many political figures expressed displeasure and questioned the law and order prevailing in Uttar Pradesh. SP General Secretary Shivpal Yadav said, "In BJP government, law and order has failed." 

He also raised questions about the encounter with the murdered barber (Sajid) and asked how those murders were revealed. 

Budaun MP Sanghmitra Maurya, while responding to the comments made by SP General Secretary Shivpal Yadav, said, “Law and order situation hasn’t failed in UP. He (Yadav) doesn’t have any issues that’s why he is making this murder incident an issue. During this tough moment, he should actually stand with the victim’s family rather than play politics."

She went on to say, “Samajwadi Party doesn’t have anything to contest in this poll. SP wants to polarise it but the people of Budaun have understood their politics." 

The grieving mother narrates her ordeal

 The victim's mother, identified as Sangeeta, while speaking exclusively to Republic said, “I demand death sentence for Javed. My demand from the state govt is that the second accused Javed must be arrested at the earliest so that the entire truth will come out. The woman narrated how the accused carried out the crime and stated that Sajid came to their house for the first time and told them that he hadn’t seen my beauty parlour, which is on the first floor. He then went to the terrace and killed my elder son Ayush first and then he killed my youngest son Honey.”

Sajid and Javed’s mother and grandmother react

After learning about the crime, which was carried out by Javed and Sajid, their mother and grandmother (respectively) spoke exclusively to us and stated that Sajid had been mentally unwell since his childhood. The mother said, "He used to cut his hands and would hit walls. The cops should have asked (us) before his encounter." 

Meanwhile, a day after the gruesome murder sent shockwaves across the nation, the police have beefed up security at the Baba Colony located near the Mandi Samiti outpost. Budaun District Magistrate Manoj Kumar has called on people to maintain peace and a magisterial enquiry has been ordered into the encounter of the accused in the case. Additionally, the DM is learnt to have given instructions to the officials to furnish the probe report within 15 days.