Dalit man murdered in Prayagraj village, body set on fire; 7 booked

No arrest has been made in the case so far even as six persons were detained for questioning.

The police said Shankar was last seen on Saturday night when one of the accused, Dilip Singh (28), came to his house and took him along to help him carry load in the fields. Shankar’s half-burnt body was found in the orchard on Sunday morning.

The police, citing their initial investigation, suggested the murder was linked to a dispute involving a woman. The post-mortem report stated that the cause of death was strangulation, and that the burn injuries were inflicted after the man’s death.

The FIR was registered on the complaint of Shankar’s father Ashok Kumar, alias Baggi against Dilip Singh, Manoj Singh, Shekhar Singh, Mohit, Ajay Singh, Vinay Singh and Sonu Singh and an unidentified person at the Karchhana police station. Ajay, Vinay and Sonu are brothers, it is learnt.

The victim’s father told the police that Dilip Singh came to their house around 10:30 pm and took Devi Shankar with him. “Around 5:30 am today, we were informed that my son had been set him on fire. The accused later returned to our house, hurled casteist abuses and threatened us,” he claimed.

Prayagraj Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Vivek Chandra Yadav said the investigators were questioning those detained and were recording the statements of local residents.

The police have found the involvement of two persons named in the FIR, along with two others who are not mentioned in the complaint, sources said.

Devi Shankar, whose wife died around five years back, is survived by three children, including an 18-year-old daughter.

His brother Shyamji alleged, “They killed my brother as part of a conspiracy. Dilip Singh called my brother to his fields and got him killed.”

The police said they received information on Sunday morning about a half-burnt body lying at Isota Lohagpur, a predominantly Dalit village. A police team reached the spot and sent the body for post-mortem.

It was found during the investigation that after completing work in the fields, the accused and Devi Shankar consumed liquor in an adjacent orchard, the police said. A liquor bottle was recovered from the spot, it is learnt. While drinking, a heated argument broke out over a local girl and the accused, in a fit of rage, hit Devi Shankar on the head with a brick and then strangulated him to death, they added.

To destroy evidence and hide his identity, the accused reportedly set the body on fire before fleeing the spot, it was claimed.

The case was registered on charges of murder, rioting, and criminal intimidation and under provisions of the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (SC/ST) Act against the accused.

Meanwhile, Bahujan Samaj Party chief in a post on X, formerly Twitter, said, “The brutal murder of a Dalit man by feudal elements in Karchhana is deeply disturbing and a matter of serious concern. It is imperative that the government takes strict action against such unchecked criminal, anti-social, and feudal forces to uphold the rule of law and ensure justice.”