Mumbai, August 24
Two boys, aged eight and five, have been allegedly killed by their schoolmates in Partur village of Maharashtra’s Jalna district so that they could enjoy a long holiday.

According to the Jalna police, the incident occurred on Tuesday at Ashram Shala, run by the government for tribal children. The two boys, brothers Ashok Sonaji Kale (8) and Mangal (5), respectively, were lured to a desolate area outside the school and strangled to death.

The two boys and their sister Indira had been admitted to the school only last Friday by their parents who work as labourers in Mumbai.

The crime was committed by three boys — Namdev Pawar (13), Vallabh Kale (13) and Jivya Datta Kale (12), all from ninth standard of the government-run residential school.

The incident came to light when Indira, finding her brothers missing for nearly two days, complained to the school superintendent. A search of the school premises revealed the bodies of the two small boys locked inside a bathroom.

The police said the three older boys lured the two small children to their deaths only so that they could enjoy a 15-day holiday as was the practice followed by the school.