A minor boy was lynched and two others were injured in Maharashtra’s Parbani after they were brutally assaulted by a mob who mistook them for goat thieves, officials said on Tuesday, adding four people have been arrested in the case.
Following the incident which took place on Saturday, the police have registered a case against a total of six individuals involved. Four of the accused have been arrested, including Akram Patel, the former sarpanch of the Gram Panchayat, who is allegedly the main perpetrator in this case, reports said.
According to reports, a 14-year-old boy succumbed to his injuries while two other teens were in serious condition.
Police confirmed that all the victims, including the deceased, are minors and were beaten on suspicion of being goat thieves.
Speaking to reporters, officials said they have invoked the murder section 302 of the IPC against the accused. “Eight were booked out of which four have been arrested till now," an officer said.
Officials stated that a video of the incident has been obtained, and they are currently working on identifying the individuals involved in the attack.
Further investigation is underway, police said.
Harjinder Singh Dhami, Chief of Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC), a body which manages gurdwaras of Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Chandigarh, condemned the incident calling it a “heinous crime is a blot on humanity, whose culprits deserve strict punishment." He said the police should “identify & arrest all the culprits & ensure that strict & exemplary punishment is given to them."
SGPC President Harjinder Singh Dhami strongly condemned mob lynching of minor Sikh Kirpal Singh (14), who was killed at Ukhlad village in Parbhani district of Maharashtra. Two more minor Sikhs, Avtar Singh (16) & Arun Singh (15) have been seriously hurt in this incident. This… pic.twitter.com/JNPAR02BJg— Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (@SGPCAmritsar) May 30, 2023
The incident comes years after the alleged lynching of three persons in Maharashtra’s Palghar in 2020.
Three men from Kandivali in Mumbai were traveling to Surat in Gujarat to attend a funeral on the night of April 16, 2020 when their car was intercepted by a mob in Gadchinchile village and they were attacked and killed. The victims were identified as Chikne Maharaj Kalpavrukshagiri, 70, Sushil Giri Maharaj, 35, and Nilesh Telgade, 30.
The mob reportedly mistook the men for child kidnappers.
The case has been recommended for a CBI probe by the Maharashtra government.