India Shining: Bhindis kill man for stealing a water pump

Villagers lynch man for stealing farmer's pump

By Anand S. Raj (Our correspondent)

26 February 2008

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LUCKNOW — Irate villagers in Narauni village of Kakori on the outskirts of the state capital took law into their own hands and lynched a man for allegedly stealing a submersible pump from a farmer's house. The incident took place on Sunday.

Three months back another man, accused of theft, was similarly beaten to death in Mohanlalganj police circle, also on the outskirts of the state capital.

Police said four thieves barged into the house of farmer Vinod Kumar and stole a submersible pump.

Vinod's brother Ramesh woke up in time and saw the thieves escape. He raised an alarm to wake the villagers and then chased the thieves. While three of the accused escaped, the villagers caught one of them, later identified as Shankar, 28, a resident of Thar village in Kakori.

The villagers, who also recovered the stolen pump from Shankar, brutally assaulted him with rods and bricks.

Eyewitnesses were quoted as saying that villagers asked Shankar to name his other three accomplices. When the accused feigned ignorance, they assaulted him.

Even as the profusely bleeding accused slumped to the ground, the villagers continued to assault him. After he fell unconscious, the villagers informed the police. By the time the cops arrived, Shanakar had turned critical.

The cops later rushed him to a Community Health Centre (CHC) but, he was referred to the trauma wing of the Chhatrapati Shahuji Maharaj Medical University (CSMMU) where he was declared brought-dead.

While cops at the Senior Superintendent of Police's office were not aware under what circumstances the person was lynched, psychologists claimed that it was a reflection of 'growing frustration and anger' among the people.