Villagers lynch suspected thief in Uttar Pradesh

LUCKNOW - Villagers on patrol duty beat a youth to death with iron rods, sticks and bricks after they caught him sneaking into a house in Uttar Pradesh’s Bareilly district, police said Saturday.

Mukesh Kumar, 21, was lynched late Friday in Niyamatpur village, about 300 km from here.

“A group of villagers, who were on patrolling, caught Mukesh sneaking into the house of a trader. He died after the assault,” police Inspector Nisar Hussain told reporters in Bareilly.

“Preliminary investigations reveal that four residents of the village were involved in assaulting Mukesh. A case has been registered against the four who are absconding,” said Hussain.

Since February this year, this is the sixth lynching incident reported in Uttar Pradesh.

The other five incidents took place in Moradabad Feb 19 and April 17, Meerut April 20, Lucknow May 10 and Muzaffarnagar June 22.