A mob in Jharkhand’s Godda district on Wednesday morning allegedly lynched two men on the suspicion of stealing cattle, The Indian Express reported. The police have arrested four people in connection with the murder.
According to the police, a group of five people stole 12 buffaloes from Dullu village and was pursued by the villagers. While three of them managed to escape, Murtaza Ansari and Charku Ansari were caught by the mob.
“Villagers claim that they found the missing buffaloes in the possession of the two people in Bankatti area,” said Godda Superintendent of Police Rajiv Kumar Singh, according to Hindustan Times. “They were beaten to death.”
Heavy security has been deployed in the area following the incident, according to The Indian Express. The police said Charku Ansari had been to jail once in connection with a property offence while one of Murtaza Ansari’s brothers was also jailed in a robbery case.
The incident comes a week after the lynching of two men in Assam’s Karbi Anglong on June 8 over rumours of child snatching.
This is not the first time lynching has been reported from Jharkhand. In March, a Jharkhand court convicted a local Bharatiya Janata Party worker and 10 others for lynching a Muslim trader in June 2017. The convicts had beaten a 55-year-old man to death in Ramgarh district on suspicion of carrying beef in his van.
In May 2017, rumours about child snatching led to the lynching of seven people in East Singhbhum district.
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