Two cattle transporters died and another sustained serious injuries under suspicious circumstances after being allegedly chased by a mob in Chhattisgarh’s Raipur district on Friday, police said.
So far there was no evidence to suggest it was a case of mob lynching and autopsy reports were awaited, said a senior official.
The incident took place in the early hours under Arang police station area on Raipur-Mahasamund interdistrict border, Additional Superintendent of Police (Raipur rural) Kirtan Rathore told PTI.
On being alerted that three persons were lying injured below a 30-feet high bridge on the Mahanadi river, a police team was rushed to the spot, he said.
The truck in which they were ferrying cattle was found on the bridge.
Of the three men, one was found dead and the other two were in serious condition. They were admitted to a hospital in Mahasamund where one of them succumbed to his injuries, the official said.
The killed were identified as Guddu Khan alias Mohamed Tehsin (35) and Chand Miya (33). The injured, Saddam Kureshi, was later shifted to a hospital in Raipur.
All three hailed from Uttar Pradesh. Khan hailed from Saharanpur while Chand Miya was from Shamli district, the ASP said.
As per preliminary investigation, the three were heading towards Raipur from Mahasamund with animals when some people chased the vehicle.
The truck, found stationary on the bridge later, has been seized and the animals have been shifted to a cow shelter, the police official said.
Autopsy reports of the killed men were awaited, ASP Rathore said. “We have asked doctors to provide a brief report as soon as possible. We are also checking the CCTV footage along the route. Till now we have no evidence to say it is mob lynching. Efforts are being made to identify those who chased them,” he added.
The injured man was in no position to give a statement to police at present, the official said.
Asked if the bodies of the victims had external injuries caused by assault, he said, “Injuries can be caused if they had fallen from a 30-feet high bridge and landed on the stones. Only a post-mortem report can tell how the injuries were caused.”
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
