Mob lynches elderly to death on suspicion of stealing peacocks
A fresh incident of mob lynching has been reported from Madhya Pradesh wherein an unruly group thrashed an elderly man to death suspecting that he stole peacocks. The incident happened in Lasudiya Atri village of Neemuch district on Friday late night. The victim, identified as Hiralal Banchada, was grievously injured and died of his wounds in a hospital. Here are more details.
Mob chased four men, caught one, killed him
At around 9 PM, villagers got a whiff that some men were trying to steal peacocks. They saw four men running towards fields and intercepted them. While three of them managed to escape, Hiralal was caught. The angry mob assaulted him brutally, which led to his death. Reportedly, four dead peacocks were found in Hiralal's possession. Thereafter, the police were informed.
10 were booked, 9 have already been arrested: Police
Rakesh Sagar, Superintendent of Neemuch district, said someone dialed 100 and police rushed to the spot. "A police team rushed to the village and brought the critically injured man to the hospital, where he died later," Sagar added. A case was registered against 10 men for rioting, murder, and relevant sections of the SC/ST Atrocities Prevention Act. Nine of them have been arrested.
Meanwhile, police booked victim and three others for killing peacocks
Separately, police also registered a case against four people for killing peacocks. Notably, under the Indian Forest Act of 1972, hunting and murdering peacocks is prohibited. Those found guilty can be jailed for up to seven years. Apart from Hiralal, his son Rahul, Bansilal and his son Pappu have been booked. All of them are absconding and efforts are on to nab them.
Earlier in the day, three were lynched in Bihar
This incident comes just as three men were lynched to death on suspicion of cattle theft in Bihar's Saran district. Reportedly, four men were trying to steal cattle and were intercepted by locals. While one managed to escape, the other three weren't as lucky. The deceased were identified as Bides Nat, Raju Nat, and Naushad Qureshi. Apparently, three people were arrested.
