Rumour behind UP mob lynching

When Sarvesh Diwakar sent his daughter to live with a relative in Noida, little did he know that the decision would prove fatal for him.

His neighbours presumed that he had "sold" his daughter and beat him up on Sunday evening. He lay on the road for hours, as no one took him to the hospital.

It was not until police reached the spot that Diwakar was taken to a hospital. However, he succumbed to his injuries on Monday.

"We have lodged an FIR under Section 302 (murder) of the IPC and the SC/ST Act, and four persons have been identified from a video that had been shot by a local. One person is yet to be traced," SP Ajay Kumar said. The body has been sent for autopsy.

Diwakar, 45, was a confectioner from Sirsaganj in Firozabad who had been living in Mainpuri in a rented house with his 16-year-old daughter. She worked as a domestic help in some houses in the locality and continued with her studies.

Diwakar had been facing financial problems lately so he sent his daughter to a relative's house in Noida so she could be taken care of.

Someone in the neighbourhood started a rumour that he had "sold" the girl and the local residents swooped down on him.

"We got information on Sunday evening that he had been beaten up. A team got there and found him on the road. He was taken to the district hospital, but succumbed to injuries on Monday," the SP said.

The Samajwadi Party has tweeted that it will provide Rs 1 lakh financial assistance to the Dalit family and demanded Rs 10 lakh as compensation from the state government.