Dalit lynched over theft bid suspicion, 30 booked: Police

A number of villagers who reached the spot beat him up with sticks and he died on the spot, they added. They identified the deceased as Balram, who hailed from Mirzapur village.

The post-mortem examination report is awaited.

An FIR was registered against 30 unidentified persons at Isanagar police station, said police. No arrests have been made yet. “Balram has no criminal record. A probe is on,” said station house officer, Isanagar, Pankaj Tripathi. He added that Balram’s family was informed and they are yet to collect the body. Balram used to do odd jobs for a living, police said.

A senior police officer said it was possible that Balram had worn a saree to hide his identity so that villagers wouldn’t question him when he moved around in the village at night. Balram’s father and brother have cases against them, added the officer.

During preliminary investigation, the police found that Balram entered the house of one Ram Bhagan, allegedly with an intention to commit robbery. Ram Bhagan woke up and raised an alarm after spotting him, police said.