7 arrested for lynching ragpicker on suspicion of being thief

Surat, Sep 27: Seven residents of a housing society in Surat city in Gujarat have been arrested for allegedly lynching a ragpicker on suspicion of being a thief, police said on Tuesday.

The incident occurred in Surat's Amroli locality on the night of September 25 and a First Information Report (FIR) was lodged at Amroli police station on Monday evening, inspector PP Brahmbhatt said.

The seven persons were arrested on Monday night after the investigation. The body of the victim, who is yet to be identified, was found lying outside a shop near Ashirwad Heights Society on Sunday with injury marks.

The shop owner informed the police, the police inspector said. "The postmortem revealed that the man was thrashed by a mob," he said. The man was assaulted by some residents of the housing society on Sunday night with sticks and plastic pipes after he was caught by a security guard while trying to enter the society, Brahmbhatt said.

Prima facie, a group of residents thrashed him on suspicion that he was a thief trying to enter the society building, the police officer said.

"A case was registered under sections 302 (Punishment for murder) and 147 (Punishment for rioting) of the Indian Penal Code, and seven accused have been arrested. Further probe was underway," he added.