Another lynching, this time in Gujarat on doubt of theft

There is no let-up in incidents of mass hysteria. A 22year-old tribal was allegedly lynched to death by a mob in Gujarat's Dahod. His friend, who was also attacked, is grievously injured. The mob beat them up over suspicion of committing a theft near Kali Mahudi village.

The deceased Ajmal Vahoniya and his friend Bharu Mathur, it is alleged, had several cases of robbery registered against them; the assailants suspected that they had come to commit another theft and thrashed them with wooden sticks. The duo stood little chance as there were at least 20 people in the mob.

Incidentally, both the men were recently released from the Dahod sub-jail after serving sentences in different criminal cases.

A case of murder, rioting and assault was lodged against unidentified persons at Limdi police station, the police said. But, no arrest has been made thus far. The police said they were trying to identify those who were involved in the incident and further investigations were underway.

Earlier this month, 28-yearold Rakbar Khan was lynched in Rajasthan's Alwar district on suspicion of cow smuggling. A few weeks back, five nomads were beaten to death in Maharashtra's Dhule village on suspicion of child-lifting. A fortnight ago, a woman was lynched by a mob in Madhya Pradesh on suspicion that she was a child-lifter.

The Supreme Court had recently taken a strong view of such incidents, asking the Centre to frame a separate law to tackle the menace.