Jharkhand man lynched, set on fire by mob for felling trees

Ranchi: A 30-year-old man was on Tuesday lynched and set on fire allegedly by a group of people at a village in Jharkhand’s Simdega district on the suspicion of felling trees for stealing wood, police said. Later the charred body of the victim, identified as Sanju Pradhan, was recovered from the spot.

The incident occurred barely a fortnight after the Jharkhand Assembly passed the Prevention of Mob Violence and Mob Lynching Bill, 2021, which aims at providing “effective protection” of constitutional rights and the prevention of mob violence in the state.

Pradhan was lynched allegedly by a mob near the Besrajara Bazar area, Kolebira police station in-charge Rameshwar Bhagat said.

Hundreds of villagers who gathered around the spot alleged that the man was involved in the illegal felling of trees for stealing wood. The locals initially refused to hand over Pradhan’s body to the law enforcers. The police recovered the body after much persuasion.

The Prevention of Mob Violence and Mob Lynching Bill, 2021, envisages imprisonment for those pronounced guilty of mob violence and lynching for periods ranging from three years to a life term, besides imposition of fine and attachment of property. Jharkhand became the third state in the country after West Bengal and Rajasthan to pass such legislation.