Jharkhand lynching case: FIR against 13 named people

A day after a 32-year-old man was stoned to death and his body was set on fire by a mob for allegedly felling trees to steal wood in Jharkhand’s Simdega district, police on Wednesday said an FIR was registered against 13 named people and 25 unknown others.

Sanju Pradhan was killed barely 100 metres from his home near Besrajara Bazar area after a mob called him out. They then gathered a pile of wood and set fire to his body.

''A named FIR has been filed in the case against 13 people besides 20/25 unknown people,'' Superintendent of Police Shams Tabrej told PTI.

The FIR was registered for offences such as murder, rioting with deadly weapons and unlawful assembly, said the SP who visited the spot with district administration officials again on Wednesday.

Chief Minister Hemant Soren in a tweet asked the deputy commissioner to investigate the matter and inform him after taking legal action.

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 of people and the prevention of mob violence in the state.

Local people had said that the man was involved in the illegal felling of trees for stealing and smuggling wood, which is against the traditional tribal system.