Residents blocked the Dumka-Bhagalpur road at Kurma Haat in Jharkhand’s Dumka district for four hours, from 11 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., on Thursday in protest against the alleged mob lynching that occurred on Sunday evening, resulting in the death of a 16-year-old tribal boy, people close to the matter said.
“The majority of the protesters were tribal people demanding the immediate arrest of the three named and five unnamed accused, as well as ₹1 crore and a government job as compensation for the victim’s family. Before the protest, the protesters organised a mahapanchayat,” a resident said, requesting anonymity.
Dumka superintendent of police (SP), Pitambar Singh Kherwar, did not answer the call to inquire about the protests.
However, deputy commissioner (DC) Anjaneyulu Dodde confirmed the protest, saying, “The situation is normal now.”
He also contradicted the use of the term “mob lynching”.
“It is incorrect to label this as an incident of mob lynching. It is a case in which two to three youths assaulted a boy after the boy’s bike hit a buffalo, and the boy succumbed to his injuries in the hospital during treatment,” DC Dodde said.
A police official familiar with the case said that, according to the FIR registered under section 302 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), eight individuals, including Mukesh Yadav, Santosh Yadav, and Jeetan Yadav, along with five others, assaulted Anand Lal Soren, a resident of Santali Tola in Kurmahat, and his two friends when their bike hit a buffalo.
{{/usCountry}}A police official familiar with the case said that, according to the FIR registered under section 302 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), eight individuals, including Mukesh Yadav, Santosh Yadav, and Jeetan Yadav, along with five others, assaulted Anand Lal Soren, a resident of Santali Tola in Kurmahat, and his two friends when their bike hit a buffalo.
{{/usCountry}}“The boy was returning home on Sunday evening with his two friends on a motorbike after watching a football match when the incident occurred in Tahiti village under the Hansdiha police station area. An altercation ensued between the boys and the people accompanying the herd of buffaloes. The boy’s two friends fled, and they were severely beaten. He later died,” the police official said.
The police official mentioned that Mukesh Yadav surrendered on Wednesday evening, and efforts are underway to arrest the other two individuals named in the FIR.