Simdega: A 30-year-old man was lynched and set ablaze by a group of people on Tuesday on suspicion of cutting trees to steal wood in a village in Jharkhand’s Simdega district.
Later, the burnt body of the victim, identified as that of Sanju Pradhan, was recovered from the spot.
The incident comes barely a fortnight after the Jharkhand Assembly passed the Mob Violence and Mob Lynching Bill, 2021, which aims to provide effective protection of constitutional rights and prevent mob violence in the state.
Kolebira police station in-charge Rameshwar Bhagat said that Pradhan was allegedly beaten to death by a mob near Besarajara Bazar area.
Hundreds of villagers present at the spot alleged that the man was involved in illegal felling of trees to steal wood.
The locals initially refused to hand over Pradhan’s body to the law enforcers. After much effort, the police recovered the body.
The Prevention of Mob Violence and Mob Lynching Bill, 2021 provides for punishment of three years to life imprisonment in addition to fine and attachment of property to those convicted of mob violence and lynching.
Jharkhand has become the third state in the country after West Bengal and Rajasthan to pass such a law.
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