Two men transporting cattle lost their lives, and another sustained severe injuries under suspicious circumstances, allegedly after being pursued by a mob in Chhattisgarh’s Raipur district, reports The Indian Express.
According to police, there is no evidence to suggest that it was a case of mob lynching, and autopsy reports are pending. However, relatives of the victims asserted that they were viciously attacked by a mob, which allegedly threw them off a bridge into the Mahanadi River.
The deceased have been identified as Guddu Khan, 35, and Chand Miya Khan, 23, and the injured as Saddam Qureshi, 23. Qureshi and Chand were cousins and residents of Saharanpur district in Uttar Pradesh, while Guddu hailed from UP’s Shamli district.
The incident took place during the early hours in the Arang police station area on the Raipur-Mahasamund interdistrict border, according to Additional Superintendent of Police (Raipur rural) Kirtan Rathore.
He said that police received information that three men were being chased by a mob and the police team rushed to the spot.
“While one of them had died, two were rushed to a hospital in Mahasamund, where another succumbed. The third is in a serious condition at a hospital in Raipur city,” Rathore added.
The police official also said that they are checking CCTV footage along the route and efforts are on to identify the accused.
According to a relative speaking to The Indian Express, Qureshi and Chand, while purportedly being assaulted, made phone calls back home between 2 am and 4 am on Friday. The relative stated that during one call, which lasted 47 minutes and was made by Qureshi, screams for help, pleas to avoid assault, and requests for water were made.
According to the cousin, the initial phone call was received around 2 am from Chand, who reported that their vehicle had been halted, and they were under attack. The second call came from Qureshi around 3 am. The cousin said that by approximately 5 AM, a police official answered Chand’s phone and informed the family that he died.
Police officials said a case of culpable homicide not amounting to murder has been registered. A probe is underway on the case, police said.