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The victim, 38-year-old Hariom Paswan of Fatehpur, was beaten to death on the night of October 2 after being mistaken for a ‘drone thief’
The videos that surfaced later show Hariom being brutally assaulted, stripped, and tied up by a mob. (Screenshot)
Could the Raebareli mob lynching have been avoided? A chilling video and fresh revelations have exposed shocking police negligence in the mob lynching of a Dalit youth in Uttar Pradesh’s Raebareli district—a crime that could have been prevented had the police intervened in time.
The victim, 38-year-old Hariom Paswan of Fatehpur, was beaten to death on the night of October 2 after being mistaken for a ‘drone thief’. In recent weeks, a wave of panic has swept across several districts of Uttar Pradesh over rumours of “drone chor”—alleged gangs said to use flying drones to identify wealthy homes before striking at night. The baseless theory, amplified through WhatsApp forwards and local gossip, has created an atmosphere of deep suspicion, especially in rural and semi-urban belts. Villagers have begun mistaking ordinary passers-by, migrant workers, or even delivery men as part of these so-called gangs.
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The videos that surfaced later show Hariom being brutally assaulted, stripped, and tied up by a mob that taunted him, saying, “We are Baba’s men”, moments before he succumbed to his injuries. In one of his last cries for help, Hariom can be heard calling out “Rahul Gandhi”, before being beaten even harder.
According to eyewitnesses and call records reviewed by News18, the tragedy unfolded over several hours as police ignored repeated distress calls. Around 9pm, locals at a roadside dhaba in Gadaganj area spotted Hariom wandering aimlessly and suspected him to be a member of the drone gang. When the mob began to gather, a youth named Manish Yadav informed Gadaganj SHO Dayanand Tiwari that nearly 60 villagers had surrounded a man and urged immediate police action. Despite the dhaba being barely 10 minutes from the police station, no one arrived for 45 minutes.
By 9.48pm, a Dial-112 vehicle (PRV 1770) reached the spot with Home Guards Narendra Yadav and Anirudh Tiwari. They questioned Hariom, found him mentally disturbed, and debated taking him to the police station. However, the senior policeman in the vehicle, Jaisingh Yadav, refused. “Start the jeep. Don’t give lectures. Let him go wherever he wants,” he allegedly said. The police then drove away, leaving the man surrounded by villagers.
Minutes later, Hariom tried to flee but was caught again in the nearby Ishwardaspur village, under Unchahar police station. The mob tied him up and beat him mercilessly with sticks and belts. Witnesses said the mob hit his private parts and poured water on his face as he screamed in pain. When he shouted “Rahul Gandhi”, a man allegedly replied: “This is Baba’s area.”
At around 10.12pm, another policeman, sub-inspector Prem Singh, phoned the dhaba owner, saying he would come after finishing his dinner. By the time help arrived, Hariom was half-dead. The mob later dumped his body near a railway track. The next morning, his corpse was found covered in bruises, with deep wounds on the head and belt marks across the chest.
Hariom had travelled from Fatehpur to Raebareli to meet his wife Pinky who works as a sanitation worker at Punjab National Bank inside NTPC, Unchahar. According to Pinky, her husband had been undergoing treatment for mental illness and had minor domestic disputes but no criminal background. “He was educated and kind. They killed him like an animal,” she said, demanding justice and punishment for all accused.
Over the next two days, three videos of the incident surfaced, each revealing a new layer of horror. The first video, shot on the morning of October 3, showed Hariom’s lifeless, blood-smeared body lying beside the railway track. The second, released hours later, captured a mob raining blows on him with sticks and shouting “chor-chor” (thief). But it was the third video, uploaded on October 4, that shocked the nation—a 1-minute-21-second clip showing Hariom stripped, tied with his own shirt, and beaten savagely on his thighs and genitals. As he cried out in pain, his assailants mocked him, poured water on his face, and urged each other to “keep hitting”.
Political Storm Over Lynching
The horrific killing triggered a political outcry. Congress MP Rahul Gandhi personally called the victim’s father Gangadeen and brother Shivam on October 5, assuring them of support. “Don’t worry, the Congress family stands with you,” he reportedly said during a 15-minute conversation that night.
The next morning, Uttar Pradesh Congress chief Ajay Rai visited the family in Fatehpur and accused the Yogi Adityanath government of “jungle raj”. “They killed him while shouting ‘We are Baba’s men’. The police watched and left him to die. This is a government where hate and impunity rule,” Rai said. He demanded Rs 1 crore compensation, a government job for a family member, and the same “bulldozer justice” against the accused that the government uses elsewhere.
Rai alleged that Hariom was beaten more brutally after he mentioned Gandhi’s name. “The mob saw him as an enemy because he took Rahul-ji’s name. This is not law and order; this is lawlessness being patronised,” he said.
Police Suspend Six Officers
Facing mounting outrage, Raebareli SP Dr Yashveer Singh suspended six policemen, including beat in-charge Kamal Yadav and Unchahar SHO Sanjay Kumar, for dereliction of duty. Ten of the 12 named accused have been arrested so far, and several incriminating items, including belts and sticks used in the assault, have been recovered.
Deputy chief minister Brajesh Pathak called the incident “deeply disturbing” and promised strict action. “No one involved will be spared, including any police officer found guilty,” he said.
Unchahar MLA Manoj Kumar Pandey, however, accused the Opposition of politicising the tragedy. “Some leaders are vultures who wait for corpses to do politics. This is not a caste issue but a criminal act, and the police are taking the right steps,” he said.
Family Seeks Justice
“My husband was not a thief. He was mentally unwell but harmless. The mob tortured him for hours. They should face the same pain they inflicted on him,” his wife Pinky said.
Hariom’s brother Shivam recounted his calls with Rahul Gandhi. “He spoke three times that night and promised all help. But we just want justice, not promises,” he said.
Rae Bareli, India, India
October 07, 2025, 16:26 IST
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