A man in Jharkhand’s Dhanbad district was lynched and another suffered serious injuries after a mob beat them up for allegedly stealing the battery of a truck on Wednesday, PTI reported. One of the two accused of the theft died on the spot and the other was taken to the hospital, the police said.
Bokaro Superintendent of Police P Murugan said the incident occurred in Govindpur village of the district. The truck driver reportedly raised an alarm after he saw the two people stealing the battery.
Police were called to the scene and one of the victims, identified as Akhtar Ansari, was rescued from the mob, while Mubarak Ansari was found dead, according to News18.
The police arrested five people in connection with the case after a first information report was filed against them on charges of murder, attempt to murder, and conspiracy under sections of the Indian Penal Code. They were later presented before a local court and remanded to 14-day judicial custody.
There have been a number of mob lynchings in India since March. A spate of mob lynchings has claimed dozens of lives in Maharashtra, Tripura, Assam, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Chhattisgarh, West Bengal and Karnataka. In July, 49 eminent personalities wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi against mob lynchings.
On June 18, Tabrez Ansari was caught by a mob in Dhaktidih village in Seraikela-Kharsawan district of Jharkhand when he was allegedly attempting to steal a motorcycle. He was reportedly tied to a pole and beaten for 12 hours. The police then took him into custody and he was sent to judicial remand. Ansari fell ill on June 22 and was taken to a hospital, where he died. According to the first information report, the mob had forced Ansari to chant “Jai Shri Ram” and “Jai Hanuman”.
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