A shocking incident of mob lynching has surfaced from the Dhar district of Madhya Pradesh. One of the six men succumbed to injuries. Five others were injured, four of them critically.
The incident happened yesterday, in which one fo the farmers were killed and others injured. A mob of hundreds of villagers attacked the farmers, suspecting them to be kidnappers, in Borlai village on Wednesday.
Primary police inquiries have shown that the incident occurred in Borlai village under the Manawar police station of Dhar district on the provoking and rumor-mongering by three labour contractors from Khirkiya village (also in Dhar district).
The three labour contractors had in a pre-planned way called the six rich farmers from Sanwer (Indore) and Ujjain district to pay an outstanding amount of Rs 1.5 lakh.
According to the Dhar district police superintendent Aditya Pratap Singh, the six men are prosperous farmers from Sanwer area of Indore district and also adjoining Ujjain district.
“They had paid Rs 2.5 lakh to the three labour contractors based in Khirkiya village under Tirla police station of Dhar district recently for hiring agricultural labours, but the contractors didn’t supply the promised labour. The contractors returned Rs 1 lakh to the farmers and asked the farmers to come to Khirkiya village for getting the outstanding Rs 1.5 lakh,” said Singh.
When the six farmers reached the Khirkiya village in Dhar district in two cars to get the outstanding Rs 1.5 lakh from the three contractors, the farmers were attacked in a pre-planned manner by the contractors and aides.
Farmers escaped in their vehicles but were caught in traffic jam: “The six farmers after being attacked with stones escaped in their vehicles from Khirkiya village, but when they reached Borlai village (around 30 km from Khirkiya village) their cars got stuck in traffic jam due to a bus,” the SP Dhar said.
Contractors and their aides spread rumour that six men were fleeting after lifting kids: Meanwhile, the three contractors and their men who were following the fleeing farmers also reached the Borlai villages and spread the rumour that the six men were fleeing after lifting kids from Khirkiya village.
Prompted by the rumour the mob of villagers assaulted the six men in two cars with stones and rods.
Farmers were dragged out of vehicles and attacked
“All six men were dragged out of their vehicles and attacked brutally. Our cops meanwhile got to know that some men were being attacked on suspicion of child theft. Cops rushed to the spot and managed to bring them to Manawar hospital. One of the critically injured men was rushed to Indore, but died midway,” the SP Dhar said.
According to Singh a case of murder, an attempt to murder and rioting has been lodged against the three labour contractors and 10-15 of their aides. No arrests, however, have been made till now.
Incidents of mob lynching have become increasingly common in India. Some of the states have also passed laws against lynching but it seems to be ineffective when the mob is instigated on emotional issues like religion, cow and nowadays child lifting. Madhya Pradesh’s government passed a law to prevent cow-related vigilantism in June 2019.
The Madhya Pradesh government announced a compensation of Rs 2 lakh to the relatives of Ganesh Khasi, the farmer who was lynched on Wednesday.
