Man lynched to death in Bareilly on suspicion of cattle theft, police initially suspected drug overdose

Lucknow: A man was beaten to death by a mob in Bareilly district in Uttar Pradesh early on Thursday on suspicion of stealing a buffalo, police said. The incident happened in Bholapur Hindoliya village where more than 50 persons attacked four young men when they found them in their cattle yard. According to  ANI, the attackers were handed over to the police. [caption id=“attachment_5080031” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational image. Reuters[/caption] The deceased was identified as Shahrukh Khan, 20, who worked as a tailor in Dubai and had come home for Eid. Superintendent of Police Abhinandan Singh said three persons were arrested after the incident. “It was a case of mob lynching,” he was quoted as saying by NDTV. “Four men had gone to the village to steal a buffalo around 2.30 am, but they were caught. Three of them jumped into a pond and escaped. But Khan didn’t know how to swim so he was left behind,” he added. The police took Khan to the district hospital, where he died during treatment. “The villagers informed us about the incident. We took the man to the hospital. It seems he had overdosed on drugs. He was a regular user,” Singh was quoted as saying. However, according to the post-mortem examination, the severe beating was the cause of death, The Indian Express reported. The report also said that both sides have lodged FIRs. The villagers have filed an FIR against Shahrukh and three others, alleging cattle theft. Khan’s brother has filed a complaint against 20-25 unnamed persons and three of his associates. With inputs from IANS