Victims’ village hasn’t slept for past 3 nights

It’s 2am but residents of Haldipokhar village, which has about 1,200 Muslim families, are still awake.

Outside panchayat head Syed Zabiullah’s house, a crowd is discussing Thursday’s lynching of three youth of the village by a mob in neighbouring Sobhapur village. Senior administrative officials have just left after speaking to the victims’ kin and offering them compensation of ₹2 lakh each, only to be refused.

HT travelled to Haldipokhar, around 20km from Jamshedpur, to speak to the victims’ families.

An uneasy calm prevailed in the village where people haven’t slept for the past three days. Fear stalks the residents, especially men, who need to travel to tribal areas for work.

Courtesy rumours of lifting of children that have spread like wildfire across the tribal heartland in the last fortnight, nine people — five Muslims and four Hindus — have been lynched in four separate incidents.

Talking about the incident, Seikh Imteyaz, whose brother Siraj was lynched, said: “On Thursday at around 4.30am, I woke up to his call. He was gasping for breath and asked me to come rescue him. I picked up my bike and left for the village, only to find him being mercilessly thrashed. They chased me too. I fled leaving my brother in the jaws of death.”

That day, three men from Haldipokhar — Sheikh Sajju, 25, Sheikh Siraj, 26, and Sheikh Halim, 28 — were lynched. The fourth victim, 35-year-old Naeem, was from Ghatsila.

“We have given police pictures and videos of those involved in the killings. We have identified some. If they are still not apprehended, our lives will be at risk. This incident will create a divide in the society here,” panchayat head Zabiullah said.

Villagers submitted a memorandum to the chief minister on Saturday, demanding ₹25 lakh as compensation and other aid to kin of each of the dead.

According to family members, Naeem, who is a cattle trader, left home on May 16 and went to Rourkela, where he bought 25 bullocks and some lambs. After that deal, he visited Haldipokhor, where his in-laws stayed.

At 4am on Thursday, Naeem took Sajju and Halim in a car driven by Siraj towards Shobhapur. As a mob surrounded them, suspecting them to be child lifters, all of them called home.

Hapless family members tried their best to get police to rescue them, but failed.