A 16-year-old Dalit boy from Amroha was found hanging in the bathroom of a juvenile home in Bulandshahr.
His family alleged that he was beaten up by upper caste inmates for “daring” to run away with an upper caste girl.
The boy's father said in his complaint to the police, "Late on Monday night, I got a call telling me that my son had hanged himself. But I am certain he was murdered."
On the basis of the complaint, an FIR was registered against eight persons, five inmates, the girl's parents and her uncle, for murder, criminal conspiracy and under the SC/ST Act, on Tuesday.
The body was sent for post-mortem and the report is awaited.
The deceased had been sent to the juvenile centre on July 30 after being held for “kidnapping” an upper caste girl he had eloped with.
District probation officer Nagender Pal Singh said a high-level probe had been ordered into the case.
The boy's father said, "I had met him two days back and he said he was in deep pain. He was crying and asking me to get him out because inmates, in collusion with juvenile home staffers, would thrash him brutally. He had told me they broke his rib and he found it difficult to breathe. His hip bone had also been injured."
The boy, along with four others, had run away from the home on August 16. The boy's uncle said the case for which he was held was the reason why they believed the girl's family may have been involved.
"The boy was just 16. The girl lived with her family on the upper floor of our house in Amroha on rent. They fell in love but the family moved out. The two stayed in touch. The girl asked the boy to meet him and take her away. He made the mistake of eloping with her. The girl's family filed a police complaint and he was held," the uncle said.
Meanwhile in Sambhal, what began as children's game took a violent turn and left an old man dead and four injured. The incident took place in the Shahpur Dasar village in Asmoli police circle of Sambhal on Monday evening.
Two groups of children, playing 'gilli-danda', entered into a dispute over the game and it turned violent when their families, both political rivals, got involved in the dispute. The two families of Anees and Asim pelted stones at each other and one of them opened fire which left a 65-year-old man dead and four injured.
The deceased, identified as Abdul Razaak, had returned home after offering prayers when he was hit by a bullet. He was rushed to the hospital where he was pronounced dead.
The injured persons, including a woman, were hospitalised.
Superintendent of Police Chakresh Mishra said that based on the complaint by Razaak's family, a case had been registered under various sections of the Indian Penal Code against those allegedly involved. He said that further investigations were underway.