Omkar Nishad, 35, from Gangapur village, Uttar Pradesh, died days after being brutally assaulted by neighbours who accused him of stealing rice. The incident has raised serious questions about law and order in rural areas, with police yet to register a formal case pending a complaint from the victim's family.
The ordeal began on 11 July when Omkar was allegedly caught stealing rice from neighbour Rajendra's house. Another villager, Bansraj, claimed Omkar had stolen from his home too. Instead of reporting the matter to police, a mob subjected Omkar to a brutal public beating across the village, leaving him severely injured.
A village panchayat subsequently imposed a Rs 5,000 fine on Omkar to "settle" the matter. Unable to pay, he travelled to Gurugram where his father Roshanlal worked in catering. On 16 July, while helping his father, Omkar collapsed and was hospitalised. Doctors discovered life-threatening blood clots in his brain requiring urgent surgery.
With the family unable to afford treatment, they were transporting Omkar to Lucknow via ambulance when he died near Agra. His body reached home on Sunday night.
Gangapur Station House Officer Sandeep Tripathi stated they await the postmortem report to determine the exact cause of death, noting no formal complaint has been filed yet. Medical reports confirm the brain haemorrhage resulted from severe head trauma.
