Two Surat teens stabbed to death over a horse-riding video on social media; 3 held: Cop

Two teenagers were killed while trying to pacify a confrontation between their friend and three others in Gujarat’s Surat, police said on Monday, adding that the dispute began over a horse-riding video in an Instagram group named “Salman Khan”. The accused, all aged 17, have been detained, police said.

According to police, the boys aged 16 and 17 were stabbed by the accused near Fatima Kabrastan in the Nanpura area late on Sunday.

Assistant commissioner of police (ACP) VR Malhotra said all five of them knew each other and were members of the group and the trouble started when a member shared several videos, including one of horse-riding. A friend of the two victims responded with a joking abuse, sparking a heated exchange of insults.

The main accused intervened, abused the victims’ friend and threatened him. The two sides then decided to meet in person to settle the matter. Around 11.45 pm, one of the accused called the victims’ friend to a spot near Fatima Kabrastan. When the boys and their friend arrived, the three accused were already waiting. An attempt at talks quickly turned into another argument. “When both victims tried to control the main accused by lightly tapping him on the head, he pulled out a butcher’s knife from his pocket and stabbed both of them,” ACP Malhotra said. The person whose video had triggered the online quarrel was not present at the scene.

After the incident, the victims’ families alleged that the fight stemmed from an online gaming dispute. Police dismissed the claim after examining the group chats. “We have examined the chats in the ‘Salman Khan’ group, which establish that the quarrel arose from the videos and subsequent exchange of abuses,” Malhotra said.

A first information report (FIR) was registered on the complaint of the father of one of the deceased. Police detained three minor boys, all aged 17, on murder charges. One of the accused works at a mall in the city while the other two are labourers. Both victims worked at meat shops. The main accused’s father is also involved in the meat business, and the knife used was a meat-cutting knife taken from the shop, according to police.