Local police initially denied all knowledge of the murder
Highlights
- Naseer Qureshi, 40, was attacked by at least six men wielding iron rods
- Police say they have arrested three people for assaulting Mr Qureshi
- Mr Qureshi allegedly assaulted his wife with an axe after an argument
A man accused of murdering his wife was beaten to death by villagers in Uttar Pradesh's Fatehpur district on Wednesday. Identified as Naseer Qureshi, 40, he was attacked by at least six men wielding lathis and iron rods as attempted to escape after taking an axe to his wife, Afsari, 35. Local police denied knowledge of the incident until a video of the man being thrashed surfaced online. Police now say they have identified five of the people seen in the disturbing video and have arrested three of them.
"This man was accused of murdering his wife yesterday. When he was trying to escape he was cornered by villagers and they pelted stones at him and also assaulted him. He died," Shripal Yadav, Deputy Superintendent of Police (Fatehpur) said.
"Yesterday no one had mentioned any videos but today it has come to light. We are investigating the video too now," he added.
In the video a man, believed to be Naseer, can be seen lying face down and motionless on a dusty street as at least six men take turns brutally attacking him. At one point, a man wearing a green t-shirt is coaxed into delivering five particularly vicious blows with what appears to be a wooden stick.
The video then pans around showing large crowds gathered on the streets and on nearby rooftops. Towards the end a man in a yellow shirt steps into the middle and appears to be taking selfies and videos of the body and the crowd.
Naseer Qureshi allegedly assaulted his wife with an axe after the couple, who were staying at her mother's residence in Simaur village at the time, argued over some issue. She died on the spot and her mother and sister, who sustained injuries in trying to save her, raised the alarm.
Naseer was caught by a group of villagers and then attacked and beaten to death in the presence of a large crowd, some of whom filmed the incident on their mobile phones.
Both bodies - Naseer Qureshi and his wife - have been sent for post-mortem reports. Additional police teams have been deployed in the village to maintain law and order. A senior police official said that a manhunt has been launched to catch the other accused in the case.
With input from PTI