Two minor boys—cousins aged 11 and 12—who were among seven Muslims named in a complaint over alleged cow slaughter at Bulandshahr in Uttar Pradesh, had to spend four hours at the police station in the aftermath of the violence that led to the deaths of a police inspector and a 20-year-old man.
The complaint has been filed by Yogesh Raj, the Bajrang Dal activist who is the first accused in the case of mob violence that took place on Monday. He has still not been arrested.
Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has asked for strict action against those responsible for the alleged cow slaughter, his statement did not mention the police inspector who was killed.
NDTV reported that the village where the two children live were also surprised that they have been named in the incident.
The father of one of the boys told the news channel, "The police came to our house, called us to the police station and kept us there for four hours. They took the names of the boys and took my phone number. I was told we should be called again if required."
According to another NDTV report, Raj had also complained that locals found 25 cow carcasses in the forest near village Nayabans in Bulandshahr.
Meanwhile, even as Adityanath held meetings with top-level officials in the state it was not clear what action was being taken against those who went on a rampage on Monday, setting a police post on fire, burning police vehicles and killing a policeman.
Local Muslim leaders and a policeman part of the murdered inspector's team have alleged there was a conspiracy to foster communal unrest in the area.