The Wire Staff 
New Delhi: Three people were arrested for allegedly beating a Dalit man to death in Chhattisgarh’s Raigarh district on Sunday (December 24).
The incident has sparked a controversy as activists claim that it was a case of mob lynching while the police has asserted that it does not come under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita’s (BNS) definition of such an offence.
According to the Indian Express, Virendra Sidar, the prime suspect in the case, found the victim, Panchram Sarthi, sneaking into his home around 2 am to allegedly steal rice. Sidar then called his neighbours Ajay and Ashok Pradhan, and the three of them tied Sarthi to a tree.
The police arrived at the scene at 6 am after the village sarpanch informed them of the incident. The police claim that Sarthi was beaten with bamboo sticks, kicked and punched.
The three accused were booked for murder under section 103 (1) of BNS, while investigation about the involvement of more people in the case is underway, the paper reported.
However, activists say that provisions under mob lynching should also be invoked in the case.
Section 103(2) of the BNS defines mob lynching as “when a group of five or more persons acting in concert commits murder on the ground of race, caste or community, sex, place of birth, language, personal belief or any other similar ground each member of such group shall be punished with death or with imprisonment for life, and shall also be liable to fine”.
Lawyer and activist Degree Prasad Chouhan told the Indian Express, “It does not matter what was the reason behind attacking him. Can they take law in their hands? It’s a case of mob lynching.”