Aligarh lynching: Victim, eight others booked for ‘dacoity’ on complaint by accused’s mother.

The family of Mohammed Fareed, 35, have alleged that he was lynched by a mob on suspicion of theft on the night of June 18. The mother of an accused in the recent Aligarh lynching case, has claimed that the victim, Mohammed Fareed, fell from stairs and succumbed to his injuries. On Saturday, Lakshi Mittal, the mother of Rahul, one of the six arrested accused (of total seven people booked), lodged a complaint, based on which an FIR was registered on the charge of dacoity against Fareed and eight others. “On the night of June 18, Fareed alias Aurangzeb barged into our house and tried to molest me before looting our valuables. When my family members chased him, he lost balance, fell from stairs, and later died of his injuries,” the woman said in her complaint, according to a police official. “Following her complaint, we have lodged a case under Indian Penal Code sections 354 (assaults or use of criminal force with the intention of disrobing a woman) and 395 (dacoity) against the deceased and the other accused,” the official further stated. Besides Fareed, those booked from his side include six named and two unnamed individuals. However, the complaint filed by his family two weeks ago, alleged that he was returning home after work when he was mobbed and thrashed by a few locals who suspected him of theft. As per M Shekhar Pathak, Aligarh’s Superintendent of Police, by the time police reached the spot, the 35-year-old was seriously injured and was rushed to the Malkhan Singh Hospital, where he died. The incident, which took place in the city’s Mamu Bhanja locality, led to communal tensions in the area.