Dhule lynchings: Seen in video assaulting victims, one more held

Police have found 40 clips of the incident, shot by bystanders on mobile phones. Of the 26 arrested, eight are from Rainpada.

One more man who is seen leading the mob in a video of the July 1 Dhule lynching case, in which five men were killed, was arrested Sunday. Dashrath Timbalke (35), a resident of Rainpada, was arrested from the neighbouring district by a team of the local crime branch. “Timbalke is seen in the video wearing a white shirt and assaulting the victims with an iron rod. A crime branch team nabbed Timbalke and brought him to Dhule,” said Dhule SP M Ramkumar.

On July 1, five members of the Dongri Nath Panthi Gosavi community, nomads who beg for a living, were killed on suspicion of being child kidnappers by a mob of over 3,500 men in Rainpada hamlet of Dhule in Maharashtra, 350 kilometres from Mumbai.

Based on the video of the assault, which has gone viral, the Dhule Police Wednesday arrested two people — Maharu Pawar (22) and Hiralal Gawli — both residents of Rainpada. The two are seen in the video assaulting the victims with an iron rod and stick. With Timbalke in custody, the number of arrests in the case stands at 26.

Police have found 40 clips of the incident, shot by bystanders on mobile phones. Of the 26 arrested, eight are from Rainpada.