Even five days after a 55-year-old man was lynched by a mob in Bihar’s Araria district allegedly for cattle theft, no arrest has yet been made in the case. However, the police on Thursday arrested five persons in another case in which two persons, including a minor, were lynched in the State’s Nalanda district on Wednesday.
“No arrest has yet been made in the case of lynching of Mohd Kabul Ansari… an FIR has been lodged against unknown persons,” said K.D. Singh, a senior police officer of Araria district. The FIR was lodged on the basis of a statement given by the village watchman, Panchanand.
According to the villagers, the incident took place in the early hours of December 30 when a mob of over 300 people allegedly caught 55-year-old Ansari stealing cattle from Simarbani village. The mob beat him to death even as he kept pleading his innocence. Ansari was from the neighbouring Ranikatta village.
Criminal past
The police said he had a criminal past as over a dozen cases are pending against him at different police stations in Araria and Kishanganj districts. A month ago, a gun and nine cartridges were also seized from his residence.
“He had a criminal past, but we are investigating,” Sikti police station in-charge Rakesh Kumar told journalists on Wednesday. It was alleged that Ansari was into cattle smuggling from across the border of neighbouring Nepal. He was beaten to death by people of the same community.
