Youth lynched on suspicion of e-rickshaw theft in Vaishali, FIR lodged against six

Patna: A 21-year-old man was allegedly beaten to death by a mob on suspicion of stealing an e-rickshaw in Vaishali district on Friday. The incident took place at Khapura village under Bidupur police station area.

The deceased, Sunny Kumar, was the youngest of four brothers and worked as a centering worker with a mason.According to his family, Sunny was taken from his home on Friday by Rajneesh Kumar, whose e-rickshaw had allegedly been stolen a day earlier, along with seven to eight others. The victim’s elder brother, Saurabh Kumar, alleged that the accused tortured Sunny for nearly six hours to force him to confess to the theft.Unable to bear the assault, Sunny eventually admitted to the theft, his family claimed.

They also alleged that his ears were cut during the assault and later stitched by the accused. Black marks were found on his neck, leading the family to suspect that he had been strangled.Around 4pm, the accused took Sunny to Bidupur police station. However, as no formal complaint regarding the alleged e-rickshaw theft had been lodged, police asked him to leave.His family alleged that instead of releasing him, the accused took him back to the village, confined him in a room and assaulted him again.

Around 10pm, they allegedly abandoned the critically injured Sunny outside his house before fleeing. He died around 1am on Saturday.Saurabh lodged an FIR accusing six people, including Manish Kumar of Chandpura Saidabad village, Rajneesh, their wives and mother, of murder. He questioned why the accused resorted to violence instead of informing the police if they genuinely suspected Sunny of theft.Following the incident, Bidupur police reached the village and launched an investigation.

The incident triggered anger among local residents, while the accused men have fled their homes.A forensic science laboratory (FSL) team visited the spot and collected evidence. Police have sent the body to Sadar Hospital in Hajipur for postmortem.Bidupur police station SHO Ravi Prakash said three women — Sarita Devi (33), Savita Devi (30) and Devi Devi (55) — have been arrested for their involvement in the case. “Police teams are conducting raids to arrest the remaining accused and further investigation is underway,” he said.The SHO said there were injury marks on the victim’s body, but prima facie it appeared that he died due to internal injuries.