Police Arrest 3 More in Dhar Mob Lynching, Bring Total to 25

Monetary dispute between the victims, who are farmers from Ujjain, and labour contractors led to the altercation.

Image used for representation.

(Photo altered by The Quint)

Three more people have been arrested in Madhya Pradesh in connection with the Dhar mob lynching case, on Wednesday, 12 February.

Total 25 people have been arrested so far and 35 people have been identified in the case.

Six police officials have also been suspended for dereliction of duty in the incident in which a person lost his life and five others were injured after being thrashed by villagers of Dhar district.

A monetary dispute between the victims, who are all farmers from Ujjain, and labour contractors is said to have led to the altercation.

Earlier on Wednesday, the Madhya Pradesh government sanctioned Rs one lakh compensation each to four persons who were injured in the mob attack.

What Happened?

The farmers had been called to Khadkiya village with a promise to repay the money they had paid in advance for hiring labourers. They had to recover Rs 1.5 lakh of the Rs 2.5 lakh paid to the contractor.

When the farmers reached the village, a dispute ensued and they were pelted with stones. Rumours of a gang of child-lifters in the area started to spread when the farmers were returning back home, towards Borlai, when their vehicles were stopped by a mob of around 200 people.

While one of the occupants of the car managed to escape, the remaining six were assaulted by the mob. One vehicle was also torched by the mob.

Aditya Pratap Singh, Dhar SP on Friday, 7 February said that one person had died and five were injured in the incident. An FIR has been registered under IPC Sec 302: Punishment for murder and 307: Attempt to murder.

(With inputs from ANI)