Bareilly (UP), Aug 20 (IANS): A local court has ordered an FIR against five cops, including the SHO of Bithri Chainpur police station, a sub inspector, two constables and a home guard, for allegedly beating a 17-year-old boy to death on "suspicion" of smuggling cattle.

The incident took place on April 17 when the victim, Arkan Ali, had gone to collect pending payment from a slaughterhouse for a buffalo he had supplied earlier.

His father, Pappu Qureshi, told the court that Arkan was allegedly picked up by the accused cops while he was on his way back home.

A post mortem report later revealed that there were 16 injury marks on Arkan's body. After considering the evidence produced by his father, the court gave orders to register an FIR.

The five accused cops have been booked under IPC sections 341 (wrongful restraint), 384 (extortion), 304 (culpable homicide), 394 (voluntarily causing hurt in committing robbery) and 120-B (criminal conspiracy).

"A policeman had called me from my son's phone and demanded Rs 50,000 for his release. Later, when I reached there, Arkan was lying in a pool of blood and some cops were brutally thrashing him. He died soon after. He had an injury at the back of his head," Qureshi said.

On their part, police said that Arkan died after being hit by a vehicle while he was trying to escape by road.

"There were so many people along with us who witnessed the police atrocity. Police later tried to frame us in a fake case of rioting. Moreover, the spot where my son allegedly died in an accident is a street where traffic congestion is not common," Qureshi said.