A 35-year-old Dalit man – a tractor driver – was beaten to death allegedly by a group of upper-caste Hindu men in Koirauna area of Bhadohi district on Thursday.
The incident happened after the deceased’s vehicle hit a man riding a bicycle while “driving rashly in a drunken state,” police said. The cyclist was not injured in the accident. The accused fled soon after the Dalit man lost consciousness. An ambulance soon reached the spot and took him to a hospital. Later, on Thursday night, he died during treatment at the hospital.
The deceased Munshi Gautam, a resident of Purva village, is survived by his wife and six children.
The main accused, Jai Shankar Pandey (50), who allegedly led the killer mob, was detained on Saturday after Charanjeet, father of the deceased, registered an FIR against Pandey and five unidentified persons at the Koirauna police station on charges of culpable homicide not amounting to murder.
The police invoked the SC/ST Act against the accused.
Soon after the incident, family members of Gautam and villagers staged a protest outside the Koirauna police station demanding action against the assailants.
