Indian boy ‘killed for sharing higher-caste name’

A 14-year-old low-caste “untouchable” was strangled in northern India because he shared his first name with a higher-caste youth, police said on Saturday. Neeraj Kumar, was allegedly kidnapped and strangled by a group of boys led by 23-year-old Neeraj Chaudhary, whose family resented the idea of the low-caste boy having the same first name, police said. The victim’s family are Dalits — or “untouchables” as they used to be known — who occupy the lowest rung in India’s rigid caste hierarchy. Most live in poverty and do menial, supposedly “unclean” jobs like collecting garbage. Caste discrimination is illegal in India but many low-caste and tribal groups are still marginalised in society, especially outside the major cities.