Raebareli (UP), Oct 6 (PTI) A 40-year-old Dalit man was allegedly lynched by villagers who mistook him for a thief during a night vigil amid rumours that a gang was using drones for surveillance to mark houses for robberies, police said on Monday.
Five people have been arrested in the case and three police personnel have been suspended for alleged negligence, they said, adding the accused come from different social backgrounds, including Dalits and other backward castes. Police appealed to residents not to spread any caste-related rumours about the incident.
The deceased was identified as Hariom, a resident of neighbouring Fatehpur district. Uttar Pradesh Congress president Ajay Rai on Monday visited Hariom’s family and claimed that the victim was beaten up when he took Rahul Gandhi’s name. He alleged that “jungle raj” was prevailing in the state. Gandhi spoke to the victim’s brother on phone and assured him of all support.
According to police, residents in several villages in the Unchahar police station area have been keeping night vigils following rumours that drone surveillance was being done to orchestrate thefts.
On Wednesday night, Hariom was walking to his in-laws’ house in the New Basti area of Unchahar town to meet his wife Pinky and his daughter Ananya when some villagers became suspicious of his movement near the Jamunapur crossing and started questioning him, police said.
When he failed to respond to their queries, the villagers brutally thrashed him, suspecting him of being a thief, they said.
Eyewitnesses told police that the mob dragged the victim to the Ishwardaspur railway station and left him there in a critical condition.
On Thursday morning, villagers found his body lying near the railway track, according to police. His clothes were torn and there were multiple injury marks on his body.
Police said by the time they reached the spot, the man, who was lying in a pool of blood, had succumbed to his injuries.
Additional Superintendent of Police (ASP) Sanjeev Kumar Sinha said that a case of murder has been registered and five accused have been arrested — Vaibhav Singh, Bipin Maurya, Vijay Maurya, Sahdev and Suresh Kumar — and sent to jail.
Efforts are on to identify and arrest the remaining culprits, he said.
Sub-Inspector Kamal Singh Yadav and Constables Pradeep Kumar and Abhishek Kumar have been suspended for alleged negligence, Sinha said.
He said the accused come from different social backgrounds, including Dalit and other backward castes, and appealed to residents not to spread any caste-related rumours about the incident.
He urged the public to maintain peace and cooperate with police, assuring strict action against those involved in the killing.
The Congress said the incident shows that law and order has “completely collapsed” in Uttar Pradesh and demanded Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s resignation as well as an SIT probe into the killing.
The opposition party also demanded compensation of Rs 1 crore for the victim’s family and a government job for one of its members.
Hariom’s wife, Pinky, works as a Class IV employee at the State Bank of India branch located inside NTPC campus.
Uttar Pradesh Congress president Ajay Rai spent around 25 minutes with the victim’s parents and wife.
Hariom’s brother Shivam told reporters that Congress leader Rahul Gandhi had spoken to their father, Gangadeen.
“Rahul said, ‘Don’t worry, the Congress family is with you. I will try my best to help’. He also asked about my father’s health,” Shivam said.
“I told him that everyone calls on the phone, but when someone comes forward in person, that’s when we truly know who stands with us,” Shivam added.
Speaking to reporters, Rai attacked the Adityanath government.
“The youth was beaten mercilessly. This shows that this is a jungle raj government,” he said.
Responding to claims that Hariom was targeted for taking Rahul Gandhi’s name during the assault, Rai said, “Yes, the accused said, ‘When that boy took Rahul ji’s name, they beat him even more.’ Every Congress worker, every ‘Babbar Sher’ of Rahul Gandhi, stands with this family. Our leader has personally spoken to them. We will ensure justice.” Rai also alleged that police were present at the scene but failed to intervene. “Instead of taking him to the police station, they left him to die,” he claimed.
BJP spokesperson Avnish Tyagi said that by making such claims, the opposition party just wanted to malign the CM Adityanath’s government, which has transformed the state over the last eight years.
“They don’t have any achievements to highlight from their time in power. It was during their time that people would fear venturing out of their homes and investors and tourists avoided Uttar Pradesh. However, that is not the case now.
“UP has transformed and the opposition’s claims are baseless,” Tyagi told PTI. PTI COR ABN MAN KIS PRK RT DIV DIV
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