Man lynched, 2 injured in J'khand over cow slaughter suspicion

A physically disabled man was killed and two others were seriously injured after they were allegedly beaten up by a mob over suspicion of slaughtering a cow in Jharkhand's Khunti district, police said on Monday.

The incident happened after local residents allegedly spotted Kalantus Barla, Fagu Kacchap and Phillip Horo with the carcass of a cow near a river at Jaltanga village on Sunday, and assaulted them, a police officer said.

While Barla died on way to hospital, Kacchap and Horo are undergoing treatment at the Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences in Ranchi, the officer said.

Karra Community Health Centre in-charge Dr Jaffar Kamaal said Barla, who had a disabled leg, suffered injuries in the head, face and chest.

The condition of the two injured is stable, police said in a late-evening release.

Police has filed an FIR against four persons under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), including 302 (murder), the release said.

Raids are being conducted to apprehend them, it said.

Five people were detained for questioning, but no arrests have been made so far.

Apprehending protests, the authorities concerned shifted the detainees to another police station.

On Sunday, villagers had laid a siege to Karra police station demanding the release of those detained.

The protest was called off following an assurance by sub-divisional police officer Rushabh Jha that the detainees will be let off if found innocent.

DIG Amol Venukat Homkar told PTI that five people have been detained and preliminary investigation indicated their involvement in the incident. The process of identification of the perpetrators is on.

During an inspection of the scene of the crime, police did not find any carcass but there was evidence of mob assault, Homkar said.

Jharkhand has seen a string of incidents of mob lynching over the past few months.

On June 17, a young Muslim man Tabrez Ansari was brutally assaulted by a mob which suspected him of trying to steal a motorcycle in Seraikela-Kharsawan district. He succumbed to injuries five days later.

In Gumla district's Nagar-Siskari village, four elderly tribal people were lynched by a mob over suspicion of practising witchcraft in July this year.