Lucknow, A 17-year-old Muslim boy was discovered deceased in the Lakhimpur Kheri district of Uttar Pradesh, India, bearing significant injury marks.

According to Kashmir Media Service, the boy, who had been missing since early this month, was found in a canal. His family, speaking to media, indicated signs of severe beating and injuries on his body. Sartaj Ahmed, the boy’s uncle, described the injuries, including broken teeth, eye damage, and fractured hands, suggesting brutal assault.

The local police initially did not respond to the family’s missing person report. An FIR was later filed by a Hindu woman claiming the boy had married her daughter. Following this, the BJP-led administration demolished his parents’ house. The family, including the victim’s uncle, was detained by police, and only released after the boy’s body was discovered.

In a separate incident in Karnataka’s Mandya district, a friendship between a 19-year-old Muslim boy and a 15-year-old Hindu girl was labeled as ‘love jihad’ by Hindutva groups, causing communal tension in the area.