RANCHI: A 27-year-old man identified as Mubarak Khan, a resident of Maheshpur near Sikri village of Angara block on the city outskirts, was lynched allegedly by a mob on suspicion of stealing tyres and battery of a two-wheeler early on Sunday. Police have recovered the body and started an investigation into the case after filing an FIR.
Following the incident, there was a massive flare-up in the village with the kin and other villagers, saying Khan was killed because of personal enmity and demanding the arrest of the culprits. They stormed the Angara police station and some of them roamed the village with sticks and blocked the road.
Police said they rushed a team to the village as soon as they learnt about the incident in the morning to retrieve the body and restore law and order. The body has been sent for post mortem and the FIR was filed against 18 named and several unnamed persons based on the statement by the brother of the deceased, Tabrak Khan.
Tabrak charged some of the villagers with the murder of his brother because of personal enmity. He said his brother worked as a food van driver. Khan was also married and had two minor daughters.
An official of the Angara police station told TOI that their preliminary investigations found that the deceased was tied to an electric pole and thrashed brutally after being caught fleeing while attempting to steal.
“Some villagers claimed that around midnight, Khan broke into a house in the village to steal the tyre and battery from a bike. After being spotted by a few locals, he tried to flee but was caught. Later, he was tied to a pole and thrashed causing his death on the spot,” the official added.
SP (Ranchi rural) Naushad Alam confirmed the development and said the victim died on the spot before he could be taken to the hospital.
He said, “As soon as we came to know of the incident early in the morning, a police team was rushed to the village. Khan, however, had died.”
Alam also said the claim by a section of the villagers that the deceased was stealing is being investigated. “But we have also learnt that a few days back, the deceased had arguments over some issue with some of the villagers. We are looking into all aspects to ensure the speedy arrest of the culprits in the case,” Alam said, adding that based on the statement of the victim’s brother, the FIR was filed against about one-and-half dozen named and many unnamed persons.
This is the second reported incident of lynching in Ranchi in the last one week. On March 8, a mob had beaten up one Sachin Kumar Verma (21) near the Kotwali police station area in Ranchi over suspicion of vehicle theft. Sachin succumbed to his injuries at the sadar hospital.
Meanwhile, opposition BJP said it has decided to take up the cases of lynching in the ongoing budget session of the assembly, which will resume from Monday.
Taking a dig at the JMM-Congress-RJD government, BJP spokesperson Pratul Sahdeo questioned the "silence of liberal groups and human rights activists" over the incidents.
He said, “Seculars, tukde-tukde gang and liberal groups' silence over the growing instances of lynching in Jharkhand is appalling. This exposes their double standards of judging BJP and non-BJP ruled states. The party will raise voice against the growing lawlessness in the assembly and on the streets.”