Koraput: Tension gripped the block headquarters of Padmapur in Rayagada district after a 55-year-old man was allegedly lynched by a mob on Monday night over the suspicion of practising sorcery. The deceased, identified as Bhairav Sahu, a resident of Hatapada Sahi, succumbed to his injuries while undergoing treatment at Padmapur hospital, police said.
According to Sahu’s daughter, Rasmita, a group of villagers confronted her father around 9 pm, accusing him of being responsible for the recent death of a local. The deceased reportedly suffered from blood cancer, but villagers alleged that he died due to “black magic” performed by Sahu.
What began as questioning by the group soon turned violent, Rasmita said. “A crowd of nearly 200 people attacked my father. They paraded him naked through the village, beating him mercilessly with sticks, iron rods and sharp-edged weapons from one street to another,” she said.
She added that their house was also vandalised. “We pleaded with the mob to let him go. My father had no connection with sorcery. But the brutality went on for nearly four hours,” she said.
Police were alerted and a team led by IIC of Padmapur police station, Dharanidhar Pradhan, arrived at the scene. However, the situation spiralled out of control, and the IIC sustained a serious head injury after being struck by a stone hurled by the mob.
As Pradhan was being rushed for medical attention, the mob’s fury turned entirely towards Sahu. Police managed to eventually rescue him and rushed him to Padmapur hospital, where he died during treatment.
In response to the violence, four platoons of security personnel have been deployed in the area to maintain law and order.
Rayagada SP Swathy S Kumar said that 28 people have been arrested in connection with the crime.
Two FIRs have been registered — one by the police for the attack on the IIC and another by the family of the deceased. “Investigation is ongoing, and efforts are underway to identify and apprehend others involved,” the SP said. “The situation in the village is now under control and additional forces have been stationed to prevent any further unrest,” she added.

JACTO-GEO members taking out a rally in Madurai on Tuesday.
| Photo Credit: R. ASHOK

Raising several demands, including implementation of old pension scheme, members of Joint Action Council of Tamil Nadu Teachers Organisations and Government Employees Organisation (JACTO-GEO) took out a rally from World Tamil Sangam to Collectorate here on Tuesday. 

They demanded the abolition of the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) and sought the revival of the old pension scheme, ending the practice of outsourcing employees for government departments through private agencies, disbursement of dearness allowance without delay and resumption of the leave encashment.   

Murugaiyan, State coordinator, said that their demands were not new, but which were promised by DMK during the election.  

Now, it is more than four years, but still the government was not heeding to the voices of the protesting teachers, he added.  

Even some of the basic demands like pay for teachers of all grades – middle, primary, high and higher secondary, including physical education teachers, on a par with the pay scale of the Central government, filling of existing vacancies to reduce the burden off the existing staff, were not fulfilled by the State government, Mr. Murugaiyan stated.  

“We demand the immediate announcement of the promises in the Assembly session itself,” he added.  

The protesters warned that if the demands were not met, they would organise a mass State-wide strike in Chennai.

NEW DELHI: A 21-year-old man was fatally stabbed, while his brother and a friend sustained serious injuries following a violent altercation in South East Delhi‘s Pul Prahladpur on Monday night. The incident reportedly stemmed from a dispute over a bidi.
According to police, the conflict began in a nearby park when Sohaib, the deceased, was approached by two men—Munna and Sunny—who asked him for a bidi. When he refused, they allegedly slapped him. Sohaib returned home and informed his mother about the incident.
His mother, Sabukta (55), accompanied by Sohaib and his brother Mohsin, went to confront the attackers at their residence.
During the confrontation, the situation escalated. Firoz, along with Sunny and Imtiyaz, allegedly attacked the trio with knives. Sohaib suffered multiple stab wounds and collapsed on the road. Mohsin and their friend Akram were also injured.
Sohaib’s other brother, Sahajad, called the police. By the time a team arrived at the scene near the public toilet in Pul Prahladpur, the injured were already taken to ESI Hospital in Okhla. Doctors declared Sohaib brought dead, while Mohsin remains in critical condition. Akram sustained a stab wound to his left hand.
The police have preserved the crime scene and recovered two blood-stained knives based on information provided by the accused.
Sohaib, who worked as a contractor converting containers into offices and homes, is survived by his family. His brother Mohsin works as a painter.
Three individuals—Firoz (26), a welder; Imtiyaz (30), who is currently unemployed; and Saudagar Khan, Firoz’s nephew, work as a two-wheeler mechanic at Tajpur Pahari, Badarpur.