2 more arrested for Dalit man's lynching in UP's Raebareli

Raebareli (UP), Oct 9 (PTI) Two men were arrested in connection with the lynching of a 40-year-old Dalit man over suspicion of "drone theft", police said on Thursday.

With the latest arrests, 11 people are now behind the bars over the killing.

Shivam Agrahari, a resident of Baniyan Majre Pachkhara, and Hemant Kumar of Jamunapar, were arrested on Wednesday night, police said in a statement.

Five policemen, two of them sub-inspectors, have been suspended for dereliction of duty, they said.

Hariom Valmiki was reportedly lynched by villagers who mistook him for a thief during a night vigil on October 2 in Jamunapur village. Valmiki was assaulted amid rumours that a gang was using drones for surveillance to mark houses for robberies.

Earlier, police said the stringent Gangsters Act and the National Security Act (NSA) will be invoked against the accused, and warned against giving the incident a casteist slant.

The NSA empowers states to detain individuals to prevent them from acting in a manner "prejudicial to the defence of India" with a maximum detention period of 12 months, which can be revoked earlier.

The Uttar Pradesh Gangsters and Anti-Social Activities (Prevention) Act, 1986, is aimed at combating organised crime by making special provisions to deal with gangsters and anti-social activities.

Five people, Vaibhav Singh, Vijay Kumar, Sahdev Pasi, Vijay Maurya, and Suresh Kumar Maurya, were arrested for the murder soon after the incident, while four more were arrested on Tuesday.

The lynching, a video of which was shared widely on social media, sparked a furore, with the Congress terming it a "murder of humanity" and of the Constitution.

The party said the incident posed a serious question on collective morality.

In a joint statement, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and former party chief Rahul Gandhi alleged that mob lynching, bulldozer injustice, and mobocracy have become a horrifying hallmark of our times.

Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi earlier spoke to the victim's brother over the phone and assured him of his support.

Hariom, a resident of Fatehpur, was attacked with sticks, rods, and belts.

He appeared to be mentally unstable and was unable to express himself.

Police were informed about the incident the next morning. PTI COR ABN SHS VN VN