Twenty three villagers were arrested for the lynching and more than 100 police personnel have been deployed in the region to maintain law and order.
Reinpada – the cluster of tribal hamlets in Dhule district where five nomads were lynched on Sunday – has become a ghost town. After the men left fearing arrest, women and children have followed them out of their homes.
Twenty three villagers were arrested for the lynching and more than 100 police personnel have been deployed in the region to maintain law and order.
"Earlier, the male members of this village left Reinpada," says Narendra Toanwane a local leader from the Nationalist Congress Party.
"Now, women and children have also left due to fear of police harassment. Most of the houses are locked up and only dogs and sheep remain. The buzzing village is deserted."
"We are trying to gather villagers to assure them that the innocent will not be harassed or arrested," says S Ramkumar, Superintendent of Police (Dhule), confirming that the villagers have left town. "We will only arrest culprits who are responsible and involved in this brutal killing. We are taking the help of local leaders to win the confidence of the villagers."
While the male members are assumed to have retreated to a nearby forest area or to Gujarat, which is 30 km away; the women and children have supposedly gone to their relatives' homes, say police.
This mass desertion has impacted agricultural work and sowing season is in full swing. School has started, but classrooms are empty.
"We come to school every day," says one teacher, "but leaving without teaching. This has never happened before. We hope the government's intervention will help to bring normalcy back to the village."
Local Congress MLA D S Ahire said local leaders tried to call for a meeting of villagers on Tuesday to appeal to them to maintain peace. "Only the ailing, the old and the animals have been left behind," says Ahire. "There is no one to care for the sick or the pregnant women. Police has imposed IPC Section 144 that restricts the movement of people. The lynching was unfortunate, but we have to take precautions so that the innocent are not penalised."
He further alleged that the police are picking up anyone in sight. "People were arrested from a farm or other public places without solid proof," says Ahire. "Only a handful of people took part in the lynching and they were from nearby villages and had come for the weekly fair. I had requested the police to display a list of the culprits at the gram panchayat so other people who are not involved can come back and resume their lives." said Ahire.
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