New Delhi, Mar 14: A 10-year-old boy, who protested against his bicycle being damaged, was burnt alive here allegedly by a group of men belonging to a marriage party.

The shocking incident came to light when the charred body of Sanjeev, son of one Vijender Singh, was recovered in an agricultural field in Alipur village on the outskirts of the city.

The recovery of the body led to tension in the area and police detained five persons, including two cab drivers, for questioning in connection with the case, a senior police official said.

Though police said it was not yet clear as to what led to the murder, locals claimed the boy was hit by a vehicle of the marriage party travelling to the village from Meerut.

The boy apparently demanded a compensation to repair his bicycle and enraged over this, four men came out of the car and allegedly beat him up.

"The boy was riding his bicycle when a white-coloured Qualis hit him. The boy demanded money for getting his cycle repaired. Then some men get out it and started abusing and hitting him. They took him away also," Vijay, a local resident who claimed to have witnessed the accident, alleged.

Sanjeev's father Vijender Singh said the family was looking for the boy since 7 p.m. as he had not returned home.

"We could not find him anywhere and when we came here (near the spot where the body was recovered), we saw fire. We identified him by his legs," Singh said.

Suspicion fell on the marriage party and a group of locals stopped the marriage. Even the marriage party tried to flee from the scene fearing backlash, the police official said.

"We have detained five members of the marriage party including two cab drivers in this connection," official said adding they were being interrogated.

The body of the boy was found one km inside the village and investigators said there were no preliminary evidence to suggest that someone in the marriage party was involved in the murder.

"We think that someone known to the boy is behind the murder. The location of the recovery suggests that as it is one kilometer from the road, only a person who knows the locality can dump the body," the official said.

The body has been sent to Babu Jagjivan Ram Hospital for post-mortem.

A murder case has been registered against unidentified persons and investigations are on to nab the killers.

Tension prevailed in the area after the body was recovered. A case has been registered and investigations are on.