Indian boy shot dead

MATHURA, India: An eight-year-old boy was shot and killed in police crossfire as he played outside with friends in northern India, an officer said on Thursday.

It is not clear who fired the bullet that hit Madhav Bharadwaj, who was with his grandfather when he was shot late on Wednesday as police apparently took on suspects in a robbery. Rajesh Kumar Sonker, superintendent of police in the Mathura district of Uttar Pradesh state where the incident took place, told AFP an investigation was underway. "We are probing the case and will soon get to know how the child got hit and killed," he said. Villagers, however, told local media that only police were shooting.

"Three policemen came to the village and asked the suspects to gather at the terrace of a nearby temple for a talk. But suddenly the cops began firing," the boy’s grandfather told the Times of India newspaper.