UP: 20-Yr-Old Youth Lynched For Allegedly Trying To Steal A Buffalo
A 20-year-old man in Uttar Pradesh’s Bareilly district was beaten to death by a mob of over 50 villagers after he and his friends were allegedly caught while trying to steal a buffalo in the wee hours of Wednesday, August 29. The incident was reported from Bholapur Hindoliya village of the district and the deceased has been identified as one Shahrukh Khan who reportedly worked as a tailor in Dubai and was recently back in the country, visiting his family.
Bareilly: Man dead after being thrashed for allegedly stealing cattle. SP says, 'locals handed over a group of people to police on suspicion of cattle robbery. Condition of these people was not good & so they were admitted to district hospital, where this person died.' (29.08.18) pic.twitter.com/xj7UkFrRvf
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Lynched on suspicion of buffalo theft
Reportedly, the victim was still alive when the police recused him. However, he died during treatment at the district hospital. Bareilly SP (city) Abhinandan Singh while talking to The Logical Indian said that Khan and three others were allegedly trying to steal a buffalo from the house of a local farmer named Gajendra Pal at 3 am when the locals got hold of the four men. While the three others accompanying Khan fled the scene, the villagers ‘gheraoed’ him and then assaulted him. It was only at 6 am that the villagers handed over Khan to the police who was then taken to the hospital.
He added that the victim’s brother in his initial application had said that the victim was a drug user, but the post-mortem report at the hospital showed that he died due to internal injuries. “We are acting on the basis of the post-mortem report and two FIRs pertaining to the case have already been lodged,” added Singh. The police have also arressted five people in connection to the case and are on a lookout for the three other men who fled the scene that night. The victim’s brother Firoz told NDTV that Khan went out with his friends after recieving a call from one of them. However, the family started worrying when he did not return to his house at night.
One of the FIRs has been lodged against 25 villagers under IPC section 302 which accuses them of murder while the other one pertains to the buffalo theft, filed by the villagers. The police is conducting investigations into both.
The Logcial Indian take
This incident adds to the long list of other instances where an irate mob took law into their own hands in order to deliver justice. This mob-mentality reflects the lack of respect people have towards the laws in our country. The authorities should start awareness campaigns to educate people about laws and the justice system and we hope a thorough investigation is made into this case as well.