Indian Tribal News Service
Ranchi/New Delhi
A 32-year-old man, Sanju Pradhan, was on Tuesday (January 4) beaten to death and his body was set on fire. By an angry mob of hundreds barely 100 meters from his home even as his wife’s pleas to spare him fell on deaf ears.
In the first place, the incident happened near Besrajara Bazar area in Jharkhand’s Simdega district around 2 pm on Tuesday.
The Simdega police said the mob lynched the victim to death as he had hurt the religious sentiments by cutting and selling parts of a particular tree.
“This tree has religious importance for the Munda community and they are very sentimental about it. The deceased had cut these trees in October 2021. This had hurt the sentiments. Today a large number of people held a meeting and decided to beat him which led to the victim’s death,” news agency ANI quoted the Simdega police.
Chief Minister Hemant Soren tweeted asking the Deputy Commissioner, Simdega to “Please investigate the matter and inform after taking legal action”.
The family of the victim told police that the mob first beat him with sticks and bricks. “They then gathered a pile of wood and set fire to his body”. Kolebira police station in-charge Rameshwar Bhagat said to The Indian Tribal News in Jharkhand.
Pradhan’s charred body that later taken away by the police.
“Body sent for postmortem. He died of beating or due to fire will be ascertained after autopsy. FIR registered with appropriate sections. Identification of accused is going on,” said Simdega SP Shams Tabrez.
Incidentally, the Jharkhand Assembly had on, December 21, passed the Prevention of Mob Violence and Mob Lynching Bill, 2021 to prevent such incidents owing to acts of mob rage.
No arrests made so far and the situation is tense. Although, additional police deployed in the area.
“In the initial probe, we have information that a section of his fellow villagers had complained against him to the forest department. For illegally cutting trees,” Bhagat said adding, “ Tribe angry because no action taken against Pradhan.” Read more about The Indian Tribal News in Jharkhand visit our website.
