Dalit tractor driver beaten to death, 1 accused detained: Police

The main accused, Jai Shankar Pandey (50), who allegedly led the group of assailants, was detained on Saturday, police added.

The deceased, Munshi Gautam (35), was attacked after the tractor he was driving hit a bicycle rider. The cyclist, however, did not sustain any injury.

A 35-YEAR-OLD Dalit man – a tractor driver – was beaten to death allegedly by a group of villagers after his vehicle hit a man riding a bicycle while “driving rashly in a drunken state” in Koirauna area of Bhadohi district on Thursday, police said on Saturday. The cyclist was not injured in the accident, they said. The main accused, Jai Shankar Pandey (50), who allegedly led the group of assailants, was detained on Saturday, police added.

They identified the deceased as Munshi Gautam, a resident of Purva village. He is survived by his wife and six children. His family members and local residents staged a protest outside the Koirauna police station demanding action against the assailants. They called off the agitation after the police assured them that stringent action would be taken against the culprits.

Charanjeet, father of the deceased, registered an FIR against Jai Shankar Pandey and five unidentified persons at the Koirauna police station on charges of culpable homicide not amounting to murder. The police also invoked the SC/ST Act against the accused. Jai Shankar was detained on Saturday. A probe was on, said Circle Officer, Gyanpur, Ashok Kumar Singh.

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According to the police, on Thursday evening, Munshi along with his neighbour, Shiv Chandra Yadav, were returning home from a market in tractor, which is owned by Munshi’s neighbour, Suresh Singh.

When Munshi reached Beruva Pahar village, nearly six km from his residence, he lost control over the vehicle while going over a speed bump and hit a man who was riding a bicycle, police sources said.

A group of eyewitnesses, including Jai Shankar, gheroed the tractor. They nabbed and thrashed Munshi, the sources said. When Shiv Chandra tried to intervene, they assaulted him, too. The accused fled soon after Munshi lost consciousness. An ambulance soon reached the spot and took Munshi to a hospital.

In the meantime, the tractor owner Suresh Singh came to know about the incident and reached Beruva Pahar village. He informed Munshi’s family members, who reached the hospital. Later, on Thursday night, Munshi died during treatment at the hospital.

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Station House Officer, Koirauna police station, Chitrakut Puri, said that preliminary investigation indicated that Munshi was drunk at the time of Thursday’s incident.

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