Agra: In a gut-wrenching case of lynching, a group of villagers allegedly killed a 33-year-old mentally challenged man in Etah district. The victim was accused of being a cattle thief by the villagers.The victim was identified as Ravinder Singh, a resident of Rampur Dadauli village under Hasayan police jurisdiction in Hathras district. He was allegedly lynched nearly seven km from his house at Nagla Ahir village under Jalesar police jurisdiction in neighbouring Etah district. The incident took place on the intervening night of Saturday and Sunday at about 12:15 am.After an autopsy, two cross FIRs were lodged — one against villagers for Ravinder’s death and another by villagers against the victim and unknown men for cattle theft.In his FIR, Nagla Ahir resident Lakhan Singh said, “At around midnight I saw four men attempting to steal my buffalo. I raised an alarm and local villagers caught one man after a chase. They assaulting the suspect but in order to avoid further attack, the man swallowed a capsule. He had suffered injuries in the head and leg. We questioned him about his identity and took him to the local police station. Later, he was taken to hospital, where he was declared dead.”Speaking with TOI, Jalesar station house officer Jaipal Singh Pawar said, “Ravinder was brutally assaulted by the villagers as they believed he was a cattle thief, though victim’s relative claimed that he was mentally weak and was missing from his house. He succumbed to injuries in hospital. Based on his sister-in-law’s written complaint, an FIR has been lodged against the villagers.”Raina Devi, sister-in-law of the victim in her FIR, said, “Ravinder was mentally ill. He was missing from home. Lakhan Singh’s son Srikrishna and other villagers of Nagla Ahir assumed he was a cattle thief and lynched him.”Srikrishna and other unidentified villagers were booked under IPC section 304 (punishment for culpable homicide not amounting to murder) based on Raina Devi’s complaint. Police have also booked deceased Ravinder and three unidentified men under IPC sections 379 (theft) and 411 (dishonestly receiving stolen property) based on Lakhan Singh’s complaint. However, his FIR did not mention whether his buffalo was taken away by alleged thieves.

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