Police Injured in Violence After Two Cattle Traders Found Hanging
The death of two people in the Latehar district triggered violence which left an SDO and six policemen injured.
Five people have been arrested in Latehar region of Jharkhand on Saturday after two cattle traders were found hanging from a tree in Jhabbar area on Friday.
The death of Muhammad Majloom (35) and Azad Khan alias Ibrahim (15) triggered violence in the area, leaving a Sub-Divisional Officer (SDO) and six policemen injured.
The five people arrested have been identified as follows:
- Mithilesh Prasad Sahu
- Pramod Sahu
- Manoj Kumar Sahu
- Manoj Sahu
- Audhesh Sao
They were found hanging after being beaten to death with their hands tied behind their backs, Superintendant of Police in the Latehar district Anoop Birthare said according to The Indian Express.
Public Outrage
The villagers first blocked the road to the police station with the bodies, the police said. The two men who belonged to the Muslim community, according to the Communist Party of India (Marxist) party, which has condemned the incident.
When the police went to take the bodies for post mortem, the protesters hurled stones at them, injuring civil SDO Kameshwar Narayan, Assistant Sub-Inspector of Balumath police station Shyamdev Mishra and four other policemen, Superintendent of Police Anup Birtheray told reporters.
The police tried to bring the situation under control by using batons and firing in the air, he said.
Stones were hurled even after a peace meeting following the incident, according to the police.
Reason Behind Attack
The police, quoting the villagers, said the two had left their homes with their animals for Tutilawa village in the neighbouring Chatra district for the annual animal fair.
According to a report by NDTV, the family members of the two deceased have said that they were targeted over the last year for being cattle traders.
The NDTV report further says that the five arrested are robbers and that robbery was the reason for the killing.
(With agency inputs)
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)