Gujarat: Man lynched over suspicion of theft, five held

“The deceased was a thief and was beaten to death after he tried to commit a theft. We are trying to establish his identity,” senior police official said.

According to the police, the man had entered the porch of Amrat’s house on Saturday night and allegedly tried to steal silver ornaments worn by an old woman of the family. (Representational Image)

A 50-year-old unidentified man was lynched by residents of Harigadh village near Danta in Gujarat’s Banaskantha district on Saturday night over suspicion that he stole jewellery. Five persons have been arrested on murder charges in this connection.

Those arrested have been identified as Amrat Prajapati, Shiva Prajapati, Dashrath Prajapati, Jayanti Prajapati and Babu Prajapati.

“Last night, around 10 pm, I got a call from Babu that they had caught a person attempting theft in the house of Amrat. When we reached the spot, the 50-year-old man was dead as he had been beaten up after being tied to a tree. There was a mob of around 40-50 villagers. We detained the five present at the spot. They were arrested today by Local Crime Branch which is probing the case,” S-I, Danta police station, B K Goswami told The Indian Express.

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According to the police, the man had entered the porch of Amrat’s house on Saturday night and allegedly tried to steal silver ornaments worn by an old woman of the family. After the woman raised an alarm, Amrat and others woke up and caught hold of the man. Later, he was tied to a tree and beaten to death, said police.

“The deceased was a thief and was beaten to death after he tried to commit a theft. We are trying to establish his identity,” SP Pradeep Sejul said.

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