Six suspected robbers lynched in three months

A man in his late twenties was allegedly beaten up by villagers of Shirdon in Panvel in the early hours of Sunday, after villagers suspected him of being a thief. He later died of his injuries.

A man in his late twenties was allegedly beaten up by villagers of Shirdon in Panvel in the early hours of Sunday, after villagers suspected him of being a thief. He later died of his injuries.

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According to RV Gadhavle, senior police inspector of Panvel police station, “The man claimed to be Ganesh, a resident of Dahanu. We couldn’t learn much about him.”

Deputy commissioner of police Pramodrao Shevale said: “We believe that the villagers killed the person.”

Just a day earlier, in the nearby Taloja village of Dharna Camp, a body was found near a petrol pump, bearing signs of being brutally assaulted with iron rods, and stumps. Sources claimed village patrols killed the man. At around the same time the villagers of Vakdi in Panvel chased four men moving around in their village in a suspicious manner. Capturing one of them, they beat him up and he has been admitted to a civic hospital in Vashi in a critical state.

Altogether six people have been reportedly lynched in the past three months by village patrols in Panvel. The patrols, started about four months ago in response to a spate of robberies in the area, now seem to be going out of control.

Police have reportedly been instructed by local political leaders to not take any action against the villagers, as they are acting in self-defence.

Navi Mumbai police commissioner Ahmad Javed said: “We have been telling them not to take the law in to their hands. This is going beyond limits. We will take necessary action.”