10-year-old boy killed for plucking mangoes

Vijay Kumar was severely beaten up and later died late Thursday at Seura village in the Shahpur Patori area of Samastipur, about 100 km from state capital Patna, by owner of the orchard Ramvilas Rai and his son Sadhua Rai, according to police.

"My son's only crime was that he plucked a few mangoes from the orchard for which the father-son duo beat him to death," the boy's father said.

A case has been registered against the father-son duo. "Police have raided several places to arrest the duo," a police official said.

It is not the first such incident in the state. According to media reports, a five-year-old boy was killed by his 14-year-old relative May 19 for picking up a mango from his orchard in Deen Dayalpur village of Siwan district, around 270 km from the state capital.u00a0