Jharkhand: Man lynched by mob of 150 people for hurting ‘religious sentiments’ by cutting a tree

New Delhi, Jan 05: In a horrific incident, a man was lynched by a mob of 150 people for allegedly hurting religious sentiments by cutting a tree. The incident is reported from Kolebira Police Station area on Tuesday afternoon. The deceased has been identified as Sanju Pradhan.

According to the family, a mob of 150 people first beat him with sticks and bricks. They put him on fire after he died.

"This tree has religious importance for the Munda community and they are very sentimental about it. The deceased had cut these trees in October 2021. This had hurt the sentiments. Today a large number of people held a meeting and decided to beat him which lead to the victim's death," Simdega police told news agency ANI.

"Body has been sent for postmortem. He died of beating or due to fire will be ascertained after autopsy. FIR is being registered with appropriate sections. Identification of accused is going on," said Superintendant of Police, Simdega Dr Shams Tabrez.

It may be recalled that the Jharkhand Assembly last passed a bill to prevent mob violence and lynching in the state notorious for vigilante justice, with the proposed law providing for punishment ranging from three years in jail to life imprisonment.

Jharkhand became the third state in the country after West Bengal and Rajasthan to pass such a legislation.

The Bill envisages imprisonment for those pronounced guilty of mob violence and lynching for periods ranging from three years to life term, besides fine and attachment of property.

Those held responsible for sharing information in an irresponsible manner will also be punished.

It provides for fine and imprisonment of up to three years for those creating a "hostile environment", the definition of which includes threatening or coercing the victims, their family members and witnesses or any person providing assistance to them.

It also envisages financial compensation to the victim's family and free medical treatment of victims of mob violence and mob lynching.