New Delhi: The Rajasthan police on Thursday (September 4) demolished the reported illegal properties of three men who are accused of murdering a farmer for opposing illegal poaching.

According to the police, the deceased farmer, Khet Singh, had tried to stop hunters from killing deer, and in retaliation, the accused allegedly attacked him with sharp weapons when Singh was sleeping in his field. Singh later succumbed to his injuries on Thursday.

The Jaisalmer district authorities on Friday (September 5), demolished five allegedly illegal shops linked to the accused and removed fencing from 150 bigha of land that the administration said the accused had encroached upon, reported New Indian Express.

Jaisalmer SP Abhishek Shivhare told the newspaper that the three accused men identified as Ladu Khan, Alam Khan, and Khete Khan were arrested and their vehicle was also seized. The SP added that the murder was primarily motivated by Khet Singh’s opposition to hunting.

The murder of Singh had triggered tension in the region, with some villagers initially refusing to cremate the body, demanding strict action against the culprits.

A mob also torched shops, vehicles and a dumper belonging to the accused’s family as the protests turned violent.

Thereafter, the police used lathicharge and tear gas to disperse the crowd, with several policemen also sustaining injuries during stone pelting. The police also detained over two dozen protesters.

In a scathing indictment of the so-called ‘bulldozer justice’ prevailing in the country, the Supreme Court had ruled in November last year that it was “totally unconstitutional” to demolish a person’s house without due process of law merely because they were accused or convicted in a criminal case.

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