Fight over water turns bloody, 3 teens thrash 15-year-old to death

New Delhi: A teenager was beaten to death by three friends, all juveniles, following a quarrel while getting water from a community tap in northeast Delhi’s Sriram Colony on Thursday. Police have apprehended the trio and a case of murder has been registered.
According to the family of 15-year-old Mohammad Azeem, the boy left the house around 7.50pm with a friend to get water for the household from the community tap 100 metres from their house.“After about 20 minutes, a man from the locality reached our home carrying my son on his shoulders,” said Chandni Begum, the teenager’s mother. “Azeem was unconscious and had urinated in his pants.”
She said that as they undressed the boy to check why he had fainted, they found that his private parts bore injury marks. “My child had been brutally beaten. There were other injuries on his body also. We rushed him to a hospital but the doctors declared him dead,” Begum said.
The locals say the boy got into a quarrel with the three juveniles over who would get to fill the water first. “As it was a fight between kids, we did not take it seriously,” said a neighbour. “It was only 15 minutes later that we found he had collapsed near Rehman Chowk.”
The matter was reported to police, who apprehended the three juveniles from their homes. Ajit Singla, DCP (Northeast), said, “The accused are aged between 13 and 14 years and are residents of the same colony. A case of murder has been registered and the three have been sent to a juvenile home after first being presented in a court.”
Azeem was the third of four children. His elder brother Ikrar said that this was not the first time he had been targeted by the trio. “He used to often return from school with minor injuries. He always told us that it was due to a small brawl which need not be reported to teachers,” said Ikrar.
“We also thought the scuffles were the kids’ personal matter and didn’t take them seriously. But it had crossed my mind that I should bring the matter to the notice of Azeem’s class-teacher as a precaution.”