Police are yet to identify the two criminals who were thrashed to death by a crowd at Tonko village in Hatia, merely 15 km from the state capital Ranchi on Sunday. The two criminals in their twenties were killed while they were trying to flee the spot firing indiscriminately, after failing in their attempt of loot an Apache bike from two students, returning home from their tuition classes. No arrests however, have been made so far in this regard.
“We are trying to identify the persons who got killed in the incident. Although, their identities have not yet been traced out but we have recovered a mobile SIM card from them though which we are trying to establish links with their friends and relatives,” said Additional Superintendent of Police (ASP), Hatia Prashant Anand. The police seem to be reluctant to name anybody in the FIR lodged in the case.
“No named FIR has been lodged so far in the case as it is very difficult to single out anybody from a crowd of over 500 people. Moreover, no one in the village is ready to say anything in this regard,” said the ASP. An FIR on several unknown persons however, has been lodged in the case, said Anand.
Meanwhile the villagers kept Ranchi-Khunti Road blocked for over three hours demanding immediate compensation for the family members of Khudia Kacchap, who also got killed in the firing by the criminals, who were trying to flee away from the spot after they failed in their attempt to rob an Apache bike from two students.
Condemning the incident of lynching of two youths in their twenties by the crowd on t behest of two youths who identified them as robbers, Hatia ASP said “It is wrong to take such extreme step at any point of time as they would have first informed the police and not have taken law in their hands. They might be right this time in this particular case, but there are fair chances that there could have been an innocent person in place of those two criminals, whose identities are yet to be identified. If they had been innocent persons, it could different repercussions,” said Hatia ASP.
According to the ASP, it is not good for the society if an innocent person gets killed during such incident. One need to avoid such circumstances and people must be made aware of the repercussions of such extreme steps taken by them, added the Anand. Police patrolling in the area however, has been augmented to avoid such incidents in future, he said.