Cong, BJP spar as tribal youth is killed by duo in Chhattisgarh

Raipur, Jul 1 (PTI) A 21-year-old man was beaten to death allegedly by two persons, including a minor, in Chhattisgarh capital Raipur after an argument broke out over seeking a lift and his refusal to give the accused his ATM pin, a police official said on Monday.

The two accused were held on Sunday while trying to flee from Raipur, the official said.

"The incident took place in the early hours of June 24. The two accused, one of them identified as Savan Dongre, hit Mangal Muria after he sought a lift from the two in Kalibadi area. Apart from assaulting Muria, they also snatched his ATM card, bank passbook and PAN card of Muria. When he refused to give his ATM pin, they smashed his head on the road and fled after hearing the siren of a police vehicle," the official said.

He died in a hospital on June 25 after which a murder case was registered on June 29, the official said.

Muria, a tribal who hailed from Lohandiguda police station area in state's Bastar district, was pursuing a health worker course at a private university here and was staying in Mana Camp area, police said.

Hitting out at the ruling BJP, state Congress chief Deepak Baij said a tribal student was allegedly beaten to death at a time when the state's chief minister (Vishnu Deo Sai) is a tribal.

"It is very unfortunate that tribals are not safe in the rule of a tribal CM. The tribals of Bastar are not safe even in Raipur. A tribal youth was beaten to death. What was the fault of Mangal Muria? He had taken admission in a private college in Naya Raipur and had just enquired about the direction and asked for a lift but he was thrashed to death," Baij said.

"Is this the rule of law where a college student is killed for asking for directions and addresses? His parents had dreamt of educating him but they didn't know there is jungle raj in Chhattisgarh. The police have become inactive and incompetent in the state," Baij claimed.

Hitting back, state BJP spokesperson Devlal Thakur accused Baij of politicizing the murder of a tribal youth and said he should speak about the deaths of 40,000 tribal children due to lack of treatment during the tenure of the previous Congress government under Bhupesh Baghel. PTI TKP BNM