Two youths accused of snatching a mobile phone were allegedly paraded semi-naked, dragged through fields, tied to a tree and beaten by some people at Jhorar village in Muktsar district on Saturday afternoon. Videos purportedly showing the incident have gone viral on social media, triggering outrage over the alleged vigilante action.
According to the police, the two youths, belonging to the Dalit community, are drug addicts and were caught by a mob after they allegedly snatched a mobile phone from a migrant labourer travelling on the road. Jhorar village is considered one of the drug-affected pockets of the district.
Meanwhile, the Punjab State Scheduled Castes Commission has taken a notice of this alleged incident and sought a report from the district police by June 9.
The mother of one of the youths alleged that despite requests from family members, the mob did not spare them. “We requested those who had caught my son and the other youngster that if they had done something wrong, we would compensate for it. But they did not listen. They paraded them semi-naked in the village, dragged them through fields, later tied them to a tree and thrashed them. They even recorded videos,” she alleged.
Malout DSP Jaspal Singh Dhaliwal said the police came to know about the incident through a viral video. He said both youths were apprehended by villagers after the alleged mobile-phone snatching incident and were later brought to the police station.
“A case of mobile-phone snatching has been registered and both accused have been arrested. Both are drug addicts and their parents had earlier got them treated for addiction. One of them was previously booked in a case involving 200 sedative tablets,” the DSP said.
He further said neither of the accused had any major injuries, though some scratches and blunt injury marks were found on their bodies during medical examination. “Their X-ray reports are awaited. Nobody is allowed to take the law into their own hands. If the medical reports confirm injuries caused by the assault, appropriate action will be taken against those involved,” he added.
The DSP also said that residents of the area had earlier complained about incidents of electricity wire thefts and other crimes.
He further said they had received a complaint and were now lodging a case regarding the alleged assault.
