Mob lynchings: Looking back at incidents since 2015

There have a number of mob lynchings in the country since 2015. DH looks back at some of these incidents:

March 5, 2015 – Nagaland
In February, a mob of least 7,000 to 8,000 people broke into Nagaland’s Dimapur Central Jail and attacked 35-year-old Syed Farid Khan who was accused in a rape case. They stripped him, hit him with stones, dragged him for several kilometres, tied a rope to his waist from a motorcycle, killed him and displayed his body on a clock tower. The deceased was identified as Farid Khan. He was in jail on charges of raping a Naga girl.

Sept. 28, 2015 – Uttar Pradesh
Mohammad Akhlaq, 50, was lynched by a mob that barged into his house. He was hit with sticks, bricks and even a sewing machine. He was beaten to death after he was dragged out of the house. His 22-year-old son, Danish, was severely injured as he tried to help his father. According to the First Information Report, a speech was made at a temple in the village, which incited the mob to attack Akhlaq based on rumours that his family had killed and eaten a cow.

March 18, 2016 - Jharkhand
Two cattle traders – Mazloom Ansari and Imtiaz Khan – were thrashed and hung from a tree in a forest near Jhabar village in the Latehar District of Jharkhand when they were on their way to sell off a batch of oxen at a cattle fair in Chatra District.

July 20, 2018 - Rajasthan
Akbar Khan, also known as Rakbar Khan, was lynched at Lalawandi village in Alwar District of Rajasthan on July 20 on the suspicion of cow smuggling and it appears that the police was complicit in the attack. The 28-year-old Khan, a resident of Mewat in Rajasthan, was transporting animals to his village along with another man when they were stopped by villagers. Police found Khan lying in mud when they reached the site. He was in police custody for hours before he was taken to a medical facility. He was declared brought dead.

April 1, 2017 - Rajasthan
Dairy farmer Pehlu Khan had bought a cow for milking with a receipt. The 55-year-old was lynched by cow vigilantes while returning to his home in Nuh in Haryana. He was accused of smuggling cattle and was lynched by a mob on the national highway in Rajasthan’s Alwar district.

June 22, 2017 - Jammu and Kashmir
Deputy Superintendent of Police Mohammed Ayub Pandith was stripped and lynched in Nowhatta area, near Srinagar's Jama Masjid. Pandith had come to offer prayers at a mosque on Shab-e-Qadr (night-long prayers during Ramzan) and was killed after he allegedly opened fire on a group of people who had caught him clicking photos near the mosque.

July 20, 2018 - Karnataka
A fake WhatsApp forward caused an angry mob to kill a man and injure two others on suspicion of being child-lifters in Murki village in Aurad Taluk in Bidar district. Mohammed Azam, Talha Ismail and Mohammed Salman were travelling with their friend Mohammed Bashir. Ismail reportedly offered some chocolates to children in Balkut Tanda and this reportedly provoked the locals to attack them.

April 10, 2019 - Jharkhand
A mob of the Sahu community of Jairagi village attacked Adivasis in the Dumri block of Gumla District. They were beaten for at least three hours and one person was killed. The victims were accused of cow slaughter. In the attack, Prakash Lakda of Jurmu village was lynched and three others from Jurmu – Peter Kerketta, Belarius Minj and Janerius Minj – suffered serious injuries.