Man lynched for stopping officials taking photos of women defecating in open

A 55-year-old man was beaten to death by municipal employees in Pratpargh district when he reportedly tried to stop them from taking photographs of  women defecating in the open.

Zafar Khan, a social worker, was assaulted by five municipal staff, who were doing the rounds in the morning to shame people for open defecation.

The incident took place around 6.30 am in the fields of Bagwasa Kachi Basti (tribal area), a place frequented by locals to defecate.

The victim’s older brother, Noor Mohammad, told DH: “The municipality employees of Pratpargh town scare away women by taking their photographs. When my brother tried to stop them, they attacked him. As soon as we got to know about it, we rushed to the hospital, but doctors said he was brought dead.” Khan was kicked and flogged with a stick.

Mohammad has lodged an FIR against the five attackers at the Pratpargh Kotwali police station. Police filed a murder case against the five employees and the commissioner of Pratpargh municipality, who, an eyewitness said, was present at the spot, but made no attempt to stop his staff from lynching Khan. Pratpargh SP Shivraj Meena said, “A case of murder has been registered, and police is investigating the case.” However, no arrests have been made so far.

Khan’s family members and locals staged a protest outside the mortuary and demanded the arrest of his killers. They also blocked the national highway for several hours.

Khan had submitted a memorandum to the local administration a few days ago, complaining about the unavailability of funds for the construction of toilets in houses under the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan campaign.