District officials also added that a retired soldier, Rajendra Singh, had told the police that he was working in his field when a group of youth attacked him. He raised an alarm, he said, and villagers rushed to his rescue.
The attackers later opened fire. In the gunbattle that ensued, the three youngsters were killed, the official said, adding that Rajendra Singh's claims were being verified.
The retired soldier is a resident of Mohammadpur Raisingh village.
Police has so far detained two people, identified as Arvind and Sharnu, of Rajendra Singh's family.
Communal riots in Muzaffarnagar and neighbouring areas of Shamli and Meerut had killed 63 people between Sep 6 and 10. More than 43,000 people were rendered homeless and many of them have refused to go back home, citing the possibility of revenge attacks.
The state government, two days ago, released Rs.90 crore for the 1,800 families, mostly Muslim, which had refused to go back to their homes.
