The police said that the strict Gangsters Act and the National Security Act (NSA) would be invoked against the accused, and warned against any attempt to give the incident a Castiste orientation, saying that the accused did not know the victim’s caste.
While the NSA authorizes states to hold individuals to prevent them from acting in a “prejudicial defense of India” manner with a period of maximum detention of 12 months, which can be revoked earlier, the 1986 law on gangsters and anti -social activities (prevention) of the Uttar Pradesh aims to fight against organized crime by providing for special dispositions gangsters and anti -social activities.
Hariom Valmiki (40) would have been lynched by villagers who had taken him for a thief during a night vigil around 1 am on October 2, in the middle of rumors that a gang used drones to monitor the houses in the event of theft.
“Four other people, including Shiv Prasad Agrahari, who was held as a silent spectator and did not inform the police, a parent of Shivam, the main accused, who hosted him, and two others – Lalli Pasi and his partner – were arrested on Tuesday, carrying the total number of arrests in this new case,” said REBareli Singh.
“The victim was unknown to the villagers and the people involved belong to different communities. The police will act against anyone disseminating false information or disturbing community harmony,” said the officer. Five people – Vaibhav Singh, Vijay Kumar, Sahdev Pasi, Vijay Maurya and Suresh Kumar Maurya – were arrested for murder shortly after the incident.
The case sparked outcry on Tuesday, calling it “murder of humanity and the constitution”, affirming that it posed a serious question mark on collective morality, insofar as violence cannot be the mark of a civilized society.
In a joint declaration, the president of the Mallikarjun Kharge congress and the former leader of the Rahul Gandhi party affirmed that popular lynching, injustice to bulldozer and mobocracy have become a “horrible brand of our time”.
The SP said that the incident occurred around 1 a.m. in the village of Jamunapur, where the inhabitants attacked Hariom, a resident of Fatehpur, with sticks, stems and belts after having suspected him of theft.
“The deceased seemed mentally unstable and unable to express themselves. The villagers thought he had come to fly and beat him, which resulted in his death,” said the SP.
The police were informed of the incident the next morning, after which she sent the body to an autopsy, which revealed multiple serious injuries.
Based on video evidence, the police have identified 10 to 15 additional suspects and other arrests are likely, said the SP, adding that strict measures will be taken in this case under the Gangsters Act and the NSA.
The police teams also coordinate with their Fatehpur counterparts and track the suspects who have fled to other states, officials said.
On Monday, the president of the Uttar Pradesh Congress, Ajay Rai, visited the Hariom family and said that the victim had been beaten after taking the name of Rahul Gandhi.
He also alleged that a “jungle raj” reigned in the state. Rahul Gandhi, on the other hand, spoke to the victim’s brother by phone and assured him of all his support.
