Three Muslim Boys Found Dead Near River In UP’s Baheri, Families Allege Hate Crime, Police Say They Drowned

Three Muslim boys were found dead in the Kitcha river of Baheri, Uttar Pradesh on 7^th July. The boys were identified as Zamin Ali (16), Mohammed Ausaf (18), and Insaal aka Zainu (21). Bareily police said in a statement released and posted on their official Twitter handle “Three boys went to bathe in the Kitcha River; their dead bodies were found by the police, as they drowned in the river. We found a mobile phone and some belongings. The matter is clear, but we have sent the dead bodies for post-mortem for further investigation.” 

Their families alleged that it was cold-blooded murder and a hate crime that emerged out of Islamophobia. They also believe that their sons might have been abducted and killed on the same pretext. Their bodies were found in a mutilated condition, with broken bones and severed necks. They were barely recognizable due to the brutal marks and wounds.

Zamin’s brother Shadab told The Cognate, “The reason for Zamin’s death is not drowning. His dead body was found with wounds, his nose and mouth were bleeding badly. We are not provided with a post-mortem report, but we are told that they died after drowning in the Kitcha River”

The three friends left home on 6^th July around midnight on the same motorcycle. The families tried to reach them but to no avail. A missing FIR was later filed by them in the evening, after which the police found their bodies in the Kitcha River, the next morning.

Aleem Fazal, Ausaf’s cousin brother said, “They left home on 6th July for bathing in the river, we waited for them till evening. When they didn’t come back, we tried to locate them through a location in which the police didn’t help. We searched for them in the nearby jungle till morning and found them the next morning.”

“The police are making stories; one cannot drown in the river as the water level is very low. I suspect that they have been murdered, because of their Muslim identity. It can be because of the rampant Islamophobia. The boys were friends, and they never even had a fight with anyone”, he added.

The dead bodies speak volumes about the incident as per the families. Zamin Ali was an outstanding student and a topper of his school. Ausaf was a student of the 10^th standard and his father is a member of the congress party.

While the victims’ families grieve at their children’s cruel injustice, the Bareily police have completed the investigation and declared that the reason for the boys’ death is drowning in the river.