28-year-old lynched over alleged paddy theft at Bihar rice mill; 4 arrested

Four people, including a rice mill owner, were arrested on Friday after a 28-year-old man was beaten to death for alleged paddy theft at a rice mill in Siris village of Bihar’s Aurangabad district late Thursday night.

The deceased was identified as Suman Kumar, a resident of Tendua village. Police said they received information about the assault around 2 am on Thursday. Kumar was rescued from the spot and taken to a local community health centre before being referred to Sadar Hospital in Aurangabad, where he succumbed to his injuries during treatment.

Following the incident, Aurangabad Superintendent of Police Ambrish Rahul constituted a Special Investigation Team under Sub-Divisional Police Officer Sanjay Kumar Pandey. A Forensic Science Laboratory team was also engaged to assist the investigation.

Based on CCTV footage, technical surveillance and human intelligence, police arrested rice mill owner Anand Kumar, accountant Dharmendra Kumar, labour head Raghu Patel and a local associate, Bhim Kumar. All four were taken into custody on Friday.

According to police, locals reported that Kumar and three others had arrived at the mill in a pick-up van and were allegedly stealing paddy bags when confronted. While the other three managed to flee, Kumar was caught and brutally assaulted by the owner and his men, police said. A case has been registered under relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita for mob lynching, rioting and wrongful restraint. Kumar’s father said his son was scheduled to be married on February 8.