Patna: A 40-year-old man was lynched to death by a mob after ascertaining his religious identity in Bihar’s Nawada district.
The victim identified as Mohammad Athar Hussain died late Friday night while undergoing treatment at Biharsharif Sadar Hospital for injuries sustained during a mob attack on December 5 under Roh police station limits in Nawada district. He was a native of Gagan Dih village under Laheri police station limits in Nalanda district.
Before his death, Hussain alleged that he was targeted by the mob after it ascertained his religious identity. His relatives said that Hussain used to sell cloths in rural areas in the neighbouring Nawada district.
Hussain said that a group of four-five men forcibly stopped him, checked his pockets, dragged him into a room, and made him reveal his religious identity. “They beat me with iron rods, broke my fingers, and trampled on my chest,” he said.
Hussain said that some more attackers joined them. “They poured petrol on my body and attempted to set me afire. Before that the attackers used pliers to crush my feet, fingers and ears, and stuck me with bricks. My repeated pleas to spare me fell on deaf ears,” he said in a video.
“Hussain was the sole breadwinner in the family. He had been in the business for the last 20 years. But he never faced any trouble. What went wrong and why he was targeted is to be probed by police,” the deceased wife Shabnam Parveen told the media.
Shabnam Parveen lodged a case against 10 accused and 15 unidentified individuals. Police have so far arrested four suspects-- Sonu Kumar, Ranjan Kumar, Sachin Kumar and Shri Kumar. “Raids are underway to arrest the remaining accused,” Ranjan Kumar, station house officer (SHO) of Roh police station, said.
The postmortem was conducted under supervision of a magistrate. A forensic team also visited the spot and collected the evidence.
