NAVI MUMBAI: A 35-year-old Mumbra man was lynched and his two companions injured by a mob at Rawale in Raigad a week ago for allegedly trying to steal cattle. The matter came to light on Sunday after TOI found about it through a police source.The three had driven to the spot in a Maruti Ritz. They were beaten with logs and their car set ablaze by a mob of about 60 locals. After the incident, many locals fled their village, in Mangaon taluka, to evade the police.
“Locals found cattle around an isolated dam where the three, all in their 30s, had reached around 9am on May 7. Within minutes, more villagers came to see what was happening. They started pushing the three, kicking and beating them with logs. Three FIRs have been lodged,” the source said. As of now, 13 persons have been named in the FIRs for murder and other charges. “Six have been arrested and remanded in police custody till Monday,” said PI Rajendra Patil, Mangaon.
Mumbra victims of Raigad mob attack have a history of cattle theft, related cases, say police
Three suspected cattle thieves from Mumbra were attacked by a 60-strong mob in Rawale in Raigad on May 7. One of them succumbed to his wounds. The two survivors have been arrested, on bovine theft charges.
“The Mumbra residents’ car was gutted by the time cops travelled 25km to reach the spot from the nearest police station at Mangaon. Meanwhile, the two injured victims had somehow reached Pali close by after fleeing the mob. The police team was unable to control the mob. Eventually, the cops took a severely injured Intezar Ali Shaikh (35) to a Pali hospital. He was later shifted to Civil Hospital in Alibaug, where he died,” the source said.
Shaikh had over 17 offences of stealing and killing cattle registered against him. “His companions too had similar cases against them. Some stolen cows and bullocks were seized at the spot. Based on locals’ complaints against the three, Shaikh’s companions were made accused in a case of stealing bovine animals and arrested. They were remanded in magistrate’s custody. Their names are withheld pending an identification parade,” Mangaon PI Rajendra Patil said.
Incidentally, in separate police complaints, two locals mentioned three alleged cattle stealers. “I had caught three persons who were stealing two calves after administering injections in the early hours of May 7. One of them slapped me. They then rode, with the calves, towards Patnus,” said Prakash Bavdane (38), a local, in a complaint to the police. “One of the three threw a stone, damaging my car at a road turning at Vile Bhagad village. He threatened to kill me. The trio then fled,” said Navlesh Shelar (28), another local, in another police complaint.
Besides murder, the IPC sections the lynching accused have been booked under include unlawful assembly, rioting and mischief for causing death.
