LUCKNOW: A 15-year-old girl allegedly strangled her seven-year-old brother following a quarrel over a lollipop and later staged the scene as a suicide to mislead her family, police said.The incident took place on April 11 in Thalhapaar village of Basti district.According to police, the boy was found hanging from a ceiling hook after the girl raised an alarm.Family members immediately took him to a primary health centre in Bankati from where he was referred to the district hospital in Basti. However, he died on the way.Initially, the family believed it was a case of suicide and performed the last rites without informing the police.The case took a dramatic turn six days later when, on April 17, the girl allegedly broke down and confessed to the crime.Acting on the father’s complaint, police registered a murder case and took the minor into custody, said Basti SP Yesh Veer Singh.“During questioning, the girl told police that she and her younger brother were playing in a room on the terrace when a dispute broke out over a lollipop. In a fit of anger, she strangled him, causing him to lose consciousness. Believing he was dead, she then hung the body and raised an alarm, claiming it to be suicide,” the SP said.The deceased was the youngest among five siblings and studied in Class II at a local school. The accused, the eldest sibling, is a Class VIII student.Circle officer, Kuldeep Singh Yadav, said the girl had been sent to a juvenile home after recording her statement.
