Click to play videoNew Delhi: In yet another incident of mob justice in Bihar, a man accused of murder was stoned and nearly beaten to death by a mob in Hajipur, in Vaishali district.
The victim, Ravi Kumar, was dragged away from police custody and brutally assaulted while policemen at the scene remained mute spectators.
Ravi had been arrested for allegedly stabbing one of his friends, Om Prakash.
The two got into a fight after Om Prakash accused Ravi of stealing his mobile phone. Om Prakash subsequently died on his way to hospital.
Ravi Kumar is being treated in Patna’s BMC Hospital where his condition is reported to be critical.
Vaishali district’s SP, Paras Nath, is guarded even while conceding that the policemen in charge did not carry out their duties.
“To some extent, the policemen who were present on the spot could not perform their duty,” he said. “We are enquiring into why this has happened.”
The police are pursuing their enquiries, said Paras Nath. Meanwhile, action is being taken against the five personnel in whose custody Ravi Kumar was.
“The officer present has been suspended. Four homeguard constables have been recommended to be dismissed from the service,” he said.
This is the third incident of mob justice in Bihar. The government had ordered enquiries into the two previous ones – in Bhagalpur, and one in Vaishali where 10 people were lynched – but no substantial action has been taken.
Meanwhile, President Pratibha Patil has expressed grave concern over the recent cases of mob lynching and said that delay in administration of justice by the judiciary led to people taking the law into their own hands.
"The delay of administration of justice is so much that it has become frustrating experience to approach the courts for justice. We cannot allow a situation where the common man is tempted to take law in his own hands. The formal judicial machinery has to reign supreme," she said.
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