MEERUT, March 15 -- A 12-year-old boy was shot dead in Babupur village in Shahjahanpur district after being mistaken for a thief while chasing animals away from a field late Wednesday night, said police. The victim, identified as Ranjit, had gone to deliver food to his father, Ramkhilawan, who was guarding their crops.

According to family of the deceased, around 11:30 pm, wild animals entered the field, prompting Ranjit to chase them towards Bal Vidya Secondary School in Garha. While outside the school premises, Ranjit stopped to relieve himself when school manager Veerpal and his son Akash alias Virat, who were on the school roof, mistook him for a thief. They raised an alarm and fired a rifle shot that struck the boy below his stomach....