Kasaragod man assaulted by public over alleged indecent behaviour towards woman, dies

Mangalore Today News Network

Kasaragod, Jan 24, 2021: A 49-year-old man died after being beaten up by a mob for allegedly abusing a woman. According to the police, the deceased was identified as Rafeeq, a native of Chemnad and resident of Deli.

The incident happened near KIMS hospital and Aramana Hospital around 2.30 pm, said the town police.

The town police sub-inspector said Rafeeq allegedly misbehaved with a woman near the hospital and she raised an alarm.

Rafeeq ran from the place towards the bus stand but was chased by a group of men, including the autorickshaw drivers, he said.

The officer said he checked the footage from one surveillance camera at the site and saw the men chasing Rafeeq and bringing him back to the hospital around 1.20 pm. "There were a lot of men but only two were holding him and hitting him on his back while bringing him back," said the officer.

Soon, Rafeeq started shivering and frothing at the mouth and collapsed, he said. "It was all over in four minutes," the officer said.

Rafeeq was taken to the hospital which declared him brought dead. "The doctor at the hospital suspect he suffered a massive heart attack," said the officer.

Rafeeq’s body has been sent for postmortem at Kannur Government Medical College at Pariyaram.

The police have registered a case of unnatural death. There were no marks of torture on the body and if the cause of death was declared as torture in the post-mortem, a case of murder would be registered, the police said.

As soon as the incident took place, the police tried to check the CCTV footage of the hospital but the camera was not working. Rafeeq, who was in the Gulf, had returned home two years ago.