21-year-old Muslim youth, Suleman Rahim Khan, a resident of Chhoti Betawad in Maharashtra’s Jamner taluka was abducted, assaulted and brutally murdered by a mob on Monday, reported Maktoob Media. The mob also attacked the youth's family, including mother and sister, while trying to save him.
According to the report, citing eye witnesses, the youth was abducted by a mob of 9-15 men from a cafe, just meters away from the Jamner police station, while he was allegedly with a 17-year-old-girl from another community. The youth was dragged by the mob to a vehicle and taken to different locations, assaulted and then dumped at the doorstep of his house.
The attackers then assaulted Suleman's family when they tried to help the youth who was fighting for his life, leaving his father, mother and sister injured.
Suleman was later taken to the Jalgaon District Hospital where he was declared dead on arrival. According to police, sticks, iron rods, and bare hands were used to assault the youth, causing fatal internal injuries.
Suleman had recently completed his 12th standard and was preparing to join the police service. On the day of the attack, he had traveled to Jamner to submit his police application.
"There was not a single inch on my son’s body without wounds. They left him battered. When we ran to save him, they turned their violence on me, my wife, and my daughter. Suleman was my only son. I will not rest until the culprits face the harshest punishment the law can give, exactly for what they did to him,” Rahim Khan, father of Suleman was quoted as saying by Maktoob.
The killing sparked protests in Jamner, with relatives and community leaders demanding strict action against the attackers including charges under Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA). Residents also staged a sit in protest outside the Jamner police station, demanding immediate arrests of the attackers.
According to the report, Superintendent of Police Maheshwar Reddy informed that four people have been arrested so far, while five more suspects are being traced.
"We are still investigating the matter and cannot exactly say the reason for the attack at this time. The situation in Jamner is under control, and additional forces from the crime branch and Nashik Range have been deployed," the inspector was quoted as saying by Maktoob.
The accused have been booked on charges of murder, kidnapping, rioting, and unlawful assembly under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.
Meanwhile, former AIMIM MP Imtiaz Jaleel alleged that the police had pressurized the family to conduct last rites before all the accused were arrested.
"Another case of mob lynching. 20 year old college student beaten to death in front of his parents and sister by goons in a villlage in Jamner taluka, Jalgaon on Monday afternoon. Suleman khan was attacked on the charge that he was talking to a girl from another community. Police now pressurising family to do last rites while family is demanding arrests of all accused," he wrote in a post on X.