RANCHI: In yet another incident of mob-lynching in Jharkhand’s Latehar, a man was brutally thrashed after being caught red-handed stealing a goat by the villagers. He later died in the hospital during treatment.
The deceased has been identified as Salim Khan, who hailed from Madhya Pradesh and was working as a daily wage labourer at a brick kiln on Gowa village of Latehar.
According to the locals, after having drunk with his friends on Saturday night, Salim Khan went out to steal goat in drunken state in the village itself. But the house owner got up after hearing the screaming of his goat and raised an alarm.
After an alarm was raised, the villagers gathered there and claimed that they saw Salim Khan running away from the site. The villagers chased him to a distance, caught hold of him and thrashed him badly.
In between the police got to know about the incident and rushed to the spot. The police, after rescuing Salim Khan from the villagers, admitted him to Sadar Hospital, where he died during treatment.
Locals informed that they were being troubled by thieves for quite some time as several incidents of theft had taken place in the village during the last few months.
“Not only goats, but the cattle and machines used for farming were also being stolen from their houses for the last few months. On Saturday night also, the thief was running away after stealing a goat,” said a local requesting anonymity.
The villagers caught him and beat him up and handed over to the police, he added.
According to police, the matter is under investigation and proper action will be taken in this regard.
“After getting information about the incident, the police team immediately reached the spot and took the injured person to the hospital after rescuing him from the villagers. But he died during treatment,” said officer in charge of Sadar Police station, Dullar Chaure. Initial investigation revealed that the villagers had beaten Salim Khan on the charge of goat theft, she added.
The officer in charge said that four people, who were directly involved in thrashing the deceased, have been arrested.
“Four people were directly involved in thrashing the deceased while others were involved just like spectators. All the four persons involved in the incident have been arrested and sent to jail,” said the officer in charge.