Mob rule continues in Bihar, another 'thief' lynched

14/03/2008

Mob rule continues in Bihar, another 'thief' lynched

Patna, March 14 : In yet another case of violent vigilante justice, a suspected thief was lynched by a mob in a village in Gaya district, the police said Friday.

The victim, identified as Sajan Singh, was Thursday brutally thrashed in Barki village in Gaya district, 125 km from here. He was caught while allegedly entering a house with intent to steal, a police official said.

Singh was seriously injured and succumbed to his wounds later in the day.

He was a resident of Balri village and his family maintains that he was not a thief.

The police have lodged a case of murder, without identifying any suspect.

The incident comes a day after a man was lynched in Methwalia village of Saran district as he was allegedly trying to flee after stealing a cow.

In the last two and a half months nearly a dozen cases of lynching were reported across the state.

'Mob justice' is common in rural Bihar. Over three dozen lynching incidents were reported lat year and many more may have gone unreported.

The worst lynching case was reported in September last year when 10 men from the underprivileged Kueri community were beaten to death in Vaishali district on the suspicion that they were thieves. Later, a high-level probe found that the men were innocent.

(IANS)

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