Medininagar : A 26-year-old man was lynched to death and two others were injured by a mob in Jharkhand’s Palamu district on the suspicion of being thieves, police said on Thursday.

The three went to the house of a prospective bride at Tisibar village – around 200 km from Ranchi – on Wednesday evening. They were dragged out the house and beaten up by the mob after a member of the woman’s family apparently spread a rumour that they were thieves, said district Superintendent of Police Indrajit Mahatha.

The deputy SP reached the spot with a police team and rescued the three men, who are residents of the same village. Faced with stiff opposition, the police had to fire four rounds in the air to disperse the mob, but no one was injured, Mahatha said.

The three, all in their twenties, were rushed to a nearby hospital, where doctors referred them to another one, about 15 km away. One of them succumbed to injuries after arriving at the hospital, the SP said.

Six people have been detained and family feud was suspected to be the reason behind spreading of the rumour, the officer said. “We have identified 23 miscreants involved in the incident and will take action against them following investigation. None involved in the incident will be spared.”

Two cases — for obstructing the police and murder — have been registered. Security has been provided to the victims’ family and police have launched vigil on the village to maintain peace, he added.

courtesy : indianexpress.com

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Kolkata (PTI): West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday urged TMC candidates and agents to remain vigilant and not to leave counting centres, alleging that there was a "game plan" by the BJP and the Election Commission to show the saffron party taking a lead in the early trends of counting.

In a video message issued during the counting of votes, the TMC supremo appealed to party workers to stay put and not to lose morale.

"I appeal to everyone that neither TMC candidates nor counting agents should abandon counting centres," she said.

As trends on the Election Commission website indicated the BJP leading in 188 seats against the TMC's 94, Banerjee maintained that her party was still ahead in a significant number of constituencies.

"We are still ahead in 170 seats, but I request everyone not to lose hope," she said, adding that there were "around 70 to 100 seats where we are leading, but they are not sharing the data of those seats".

"A false narrative is being spread," she alleged.

The chief minister accused the Election Commission of "not declaring results or leads" in areas where the TMC was ahead.

"This is a game plan by the EC and the BJP as it (poll panel) is not declaring results or leads in areas where we are leading," she said.

Banerjee also alleged irregularities in the counting process at some locations.

"In several places, counting has been stopped after the first two to three rounds. In Kalyani, we have caught seven machines with severe anomalies," she claimed.

She further alleged that TMC workers were being "harassed with the help of central forces" and that party offices were being "vandalised and forcefully captured".

"With the help of central forces, they are harassing and torturing AITC workers. Our offices have been vandalised," she said, also alleging that voter list revision exercises were "purposefully done to target seats where we were strong".

Seeking to reassure party workers, Banerjee said more rounds of counting were yet to take place and urged them to stay firm.

"Fourteen to eighteen rounds of counting will happen. You will surely emerge victorious. Don't be afraid; fight like tigers," she said.

Her remarks came as counting trends suggested that the BJP was leading in 188 seats and had crossed the halfway mark of 148 in the 294-member assembly, pointing to a potential shift in the state's political landscape.

Counting for 293 constituencies was underway with postal ballots, followed by EVM votes.

Officials cautioned that trends could change as more rounds are counted, and final results would be known later in the day.