A tribal man was among three people arrested for allegedly beating a Dalit man to death on suspicion of stealing rice in Chhattisgarh’s Raigarh district early Sunday. While activists claim this is a case of mob lynching, police said it does not fall under the definition of the offence under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).
The incident took place around 2 am in Dumarpalli village. According to his statement to the police, the main suspect in the case, Virendra Sidar, 50, said he was awoken by some noise and saw the victim, Panchram Sarthi alias Butu, 50, sneaking into his home and trying to steal a sack of rice. Enraged, he called his neighbours, Ajay Pradhan, 42, and Ashok Pradhan,44, and together, the three of them tied Sarthi to a tree.
According to police sources, the village sarpanch alerted the police in the morning, and when a team got there at 6 am, they found Sarthi unconscious and still tied to a tree. Police sources claim he was beaten with bamboo sticks, kicked and punched.
The three arrested have been booked for murder under section 103 (1) of BNS. Police are now investigating the involvement of more people in the case.
This story was originally published in indianexpress.com. Read the full story here.