Jharkhand: Man beaten to death over theft suspicion
Medininagar (Jharkhand) (PTI): A 22-year-old man was allegedly beaten to death by a group of people after they suspected him of trying to steal a battery from a vehicle in Jharkhand's Palamu district, police said on Sunday.
One of the accused has been detained, a police officer said.
The incident occurred in Teliyahi village in Padwa police station area late on Saturday night. The deceased has been identified as Pawan Ram, a resident of Murma village in the same police station area.
Palamu Superintendent of Police Reeshma Ramesan told PTI that upon receiving information around 12.30 am that a man accused of trying to steal the battery of a vehicle has been caught, a patrolling team reached the spot and found that the victim had been tied up and beaten up by the villagers.
Police rescued him and took him to the nearest hospital, where he was declared brought dead, she said.
"The police have detained one accused so far. It is also suspected that the victim might have gone there to meet his lover and was caught by villagers, who accused him of trying to steal the battery of a tractor. Further investigation is underway," she added.
A medical board is conducting the post-mortem examination of the deceased in the presence of a magistrate. The entire process is being videographed and photographed, the SP said.
Medininagar Sub-divisional Police Officer (SDPO) Rajesh Kumar told PTI that the detained person has been identified as Paras Nath Mehta (35), and a manhunt has been launched to nab the others.
The SDPO said it is a clear case of mob lynching and the police have lodged an FIR under Section 103(2) of the BNS and other sections.
The police have not recovered any stolen battery from him, he added.
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5.8 magnitude quake hits Afghanistan killing 8
Kabul (AP): An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 5.8 rattled parts of northern and eastern Afghanistan and western Pakistan late Friday, killing at least eight people in Afghanistan, authorities said.
The region is highly seismically active, and quakes have caused thousands of deaths in recent years. Friday's earthquake had an epicentre in the Hindu Kush mountain range, about 150 kilometres (90 miles) east of the Afghan city of Kunduz, according to the Euro-Mediterranean Seismological Center and the US Geological Survey.
Hafizullah Basharat, a spokesman for the Kabul governor, said eight people were killed and a child was injured when a house collapsed on the outskirts of the capital. He said all were members of the same family.
Kabul is roughly 290 kilometres (180 miles) southwest of the epicentre. There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries from areas closer to the epicentre. The area is remote, and it can often take several hours before local authorities can relay information back to Kabul.
With the epicentre at a depth of over 180 kilometers, the quake jolted a wide swath of Afghanistan and Pakistan. In Pakistan, it was felt in the cities and towns of Islamabad, Peshawar, Chitral, Swat and Shangla, according to the Pakistan Meteorological Department. There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries in Pakistan.
Afghanistan's Health Ministry spokesman Sharafat Zaman said Kabul and provincial health authorities had been put on alert.
Last August, a 6.0 earthquake that struck a remote, mountainous part of eastern Afghanistan killed more than 2,200 people, levelling villages and trapping people under rubble. Most casualties were in Kunar province, where people typically live in wood and mud-brick houses along steep valleys.
In November, a 6.3 earthquake struck Samangan province in northern Afghanistan, killing at last 27 people and injuring more than 950. It also damaged historical sites, including Afghanistan's famed Blue Mosque in the city of Mazar-e-Sharif, and the Bagh-e-Jahan Nama Palace in Khulm.
On Oct 7, 2023, a 6.3 quake followed by strong aftershocks in western Afghanistan killed thousands of people.
Impoverished Afghanistan often faces difficulty in responding to natural disasters, especially in remote regions. Many homes in rural and outlying areas are made from mud bricks and wood, with many poorly built.
M5.9 earthquake strikes Afghanistan-Tajikistan border region in Badakhshan. Widely reported at 08:42 pm, depth 171 km. No immediate casualty or damage reports from Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Pakistan, India or nearby areas. #sismo pic.twitter.com/Lhddad9Uwr
— GeoTechWar (@geotechwar) April 3, 2026
