Thirty-eight-year-old Hari Om from Fatehpur Kotwali was lynched by a mob in Rae Bareli on suspicion of being a “drone thief,” his battered, semi-naked body found near Ishwar Daspur railway station on October 2, with Congress alleging that his attackers mocked him, saying, “We are Baba’s (Yogi Adityanath’s) men.”
On Wednesday at around 1 am, Hariom was travelling towards Dadedpur Majre Ishwardaspur on the Unchahar-Dalmaun road when about 25 villagers caught him and began interrogating him. Hariom explained that he lived in a nearby village, but the villagers were unconvinced.
Believing him to be a “drone thief”, they started beating him with sticks and belts.
Despite pleading his innocence, he was brutally beaten with sticks and belts, tied to a pole, and later found dead near a railway track on October 2.
Police have registered a murder case against 12 people, six of whom are in custody.
Five accused, Vaibhav Singh, Vipin Maurya, Sahdev Pasi, Suresh Maurya, and Vijay Kumar, were arrested on October 4.
The killing comes amid widespread panic in parts of Uttar Pradesh over unverified claims of “drone thieves” scouting villages, despite no evidence linking drones to criminal activity.
“In the video, when the Dalit youth, as a last hope, takes the name of the Leader of Opposition, Shri Rahul Gandhi, the killers still do not stop and instead say, “We are the ‘Baba’ ones,” Indian National Congress official handle wrote on X.
Notably, Raebareli, where the lynching occurred, is Rahul Gandhi’s parliamentary constituency.
Congress alleged that “This incident shows that in Uttar Pradesh, Yogi Adityanath has given criminals free rein.Especially regarding crimes against Dalits, he has turned a blind eye.”
This story was originally published in maktoobmedia.com. Read the full story here.