Drone thief rumours: Five arrested for lynching man in Rae Bareli village

According to Dalmau circle officer (CO) Girja Shankar Tripathi, those arrested have been identified as Vaibhav Singh, Vipin Maurya, Vijay Kumar, Sahdev Pasi and Suresh Kumar Maurya -- all residents of Dandepur Jamunapur village under Unchahar police station limits.

Five villagers were arrested on Saturday for allegedly lynching a 38-year-old man on suspicion of being a drone thief in Rae Bareli district’s Unchahar area, police said. The local police station incharge was also removed for failing to prevent the incident despite prior alerts over rumours of drone thieves across rural Uttar Pradesh.

The accused were arrested from Gulrahiya trisection during a checking drive. (For representation)

Rae Bareli superintendent of police (SP) Yashveer Singh confirmed that Unchahar police station incharge Sanjay Kumar was transferred to the crime branch for negligence. Villagers were already on high alert due to rumours of drone thieves. Patrolling was going on in groups at night. Yet the incident could not be averted, Singh said.

According to Dalmau circle officer (CO) Girja Shankar Tripathi, those arrested have been identified as Vaibhav Singh, Vipin Maurya, Vijay Kumar, Sahdev Pasi and Suresh Kumar Maurya -- all residents of Dandepur Jamunapur village under Unchahar police station limits. He said investigations revealed that these five were involved in the alleged lynching of Hariom, a resident of Fatehpur district travelling on foot to his in-laws’ house on the intervening night of Wednesday and Thursday. Assaulted with belts and canes, he later succumbed to injuries.

Police said Hariom was mentally unstable and had strained relations with his wife, who works at a bank and lives with her parents in Rae Bareli.

The CO said the five accused were arrested from Gulrahiya trisection during a checking drive, and two leather belts and a cane as well as clothes of the deceased were recovered. He added that the role of other villagers was also being verified.

Police said an FIR had been registered against six accused under Section 105 (culpable homicide) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), and further investigation was going on.

Notably, the fear of drone thieves has significantly impacted daily life in rural UP. Villagers are staying awake at night, keeping watch for potential threats, while others have installed terrace lights to ‘scare off suspected drones’. Despite the widespread fear, there is no conclusive evidence linking drones to thefts but the state police have taken steps to address the situation, including maintaining a drone register and banning unauthorised night flights.