Suspecting robbery, mob lynches cop’s brother
At 4am on Thursday, police received a call from the locals at Carter Road number 5 in Borivali east about a supposed lynching incident in the area. On reaching the spot, they found the victim identified as Pravin Lahane (26), a resident of Borivali east, lying injured on the ground
Mumbai: The brother of an assistant police inspector died after being assaulted by a mob in Borivali who thought that he was a thief.
At 4am on Thursday, police received a call from the locals at Carter Road number 5 in Borivali east about a supposed lynching incident in the area. On reaching the spot, they found the victim identified as Pravin Lahane (26), a resident of Borivali east, lying injured on the ground.
On asking around, police officers learnt that he had been assaulted by a group of men who thought he was a thief. Police officers said that the victim was drunk and as a road was blocked, he entered one dilapidated building. “The CCTV footage shows him jumping across the boundary wall due to which the people there might have mistaken him for a robber and assaulted him,” said an officer.
Officers from Kasturba Marg police station rescued Lahane and, as he was in an inebriated state, took him to a hospital for medical examination, after which they took him to the police station. “After Lahane was made to sit on a bench at the police station, he fell unconscious. He was rushed back to the hospital where he was declared dead,” said a police officer.
Anil Awhad, senior police inspector of Kasturba Marg police station said they have registered a case of murder against the mob. “We are scanning through the CCTVs to identify the people who assaulted Lahane. We are also trying to find out through the post-mortem report whether he died due to internal injuries after the assault or he suffered a heart attack,” said Awhad. Police detained four people on Thursday in connection with the lynching.
Lahane’s elder brother API Prakash Lahane, who is attached to the Santacruz police station, said that his brother lived stayed with him, but he had no idea how his brother reached the spot or why he was mistaken for a thief. “My family and I are in a state of shock. We are waiting for the autopsy report from the hospital to find out the cause of death,” said Prakash.