Man lynched on suspicion of cow slaughter in Jharkhand
In yet another case of mob lynching in Jharkhand, a man was killed while two others were injured on Sunday after they were accused of slaughtering a cow. According to the police, the incident was reported at around 10 am in Jaltanda Suari village after the locals had spotted the two men allegedly carving out meat from an animal carcass.
Commenting on the incident, DIG (Chhotanagpur Range) Homkar Amol Venukant said the three villagers were identified as Kalantus Barla, Philip Horo and Faagu Kacchap.
“The three villagers, identified as Kalantus Barla, Philip Horo and Faagu Kacchap, are alleged to have been carving an animal prohibited for slaughtering. Other villagers spotted them and started beating them. However, police reached the spot as we got information and rushed them to hospital. Barla sustained grievous injuries and he died before reaching hospital. The other two are said to be stable,” said DIG (Chhotanagpur Range) Homkar Amol Venukant.
The DIG said that there was no clarity on the “sequence of events” and that the matter is under investigation. He said no arrests have been made and that “there are a few persons detained for questioning”.
Jharkhand had reported at least three similar incidents in September alone.
On September 11, a 70-year-old man was beaten to death after he was suspected to be a child lifter in Sahibganj district, while on September 3, a man in his 40s was assaulted by a mob of over 50 people in Ramgarh district and he died on the way to the hospital.
On September 6, a man in Kagti Pahari village of Dhanbad died after he was thrashed over similar rumours.
In the last three years, at least 21 people have died in mob violence across the state.
The lynchings have stemmed from accusations of animal slaughter, theft and child lifting rumours among others. In addition, more than 90 people have been killed by mobs on suspicion of practising witchcraft in Jharkhand since January 2017.
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