Muslim man tied to tree, beaten to death for being in love with Hindu woman

Villagers in Jharkhand’s Gumla district allegedly tied a 20-year-old Muslim man to a tree and thrashed him for hours for being in love with a Hindu woman, leading to his death, police said on Friday.

The man – identified as Mohammad Shalik, a resident of Raza Colony in Gumla town – was allegedly in a relationship with a Hindu woman of a nearby village, Soso, for more than a year, sources said.

The girl allegedly called the boy to meet her at Gumla town for the Ram Navami procession on Wednesday. Fearing trouble, Shakil initially refused but finally went to meet her on a scooty and dropped her home, police said.

It is then that a group of neighbours saw Shalik and surrounded him, tied him to a tree and assaulted him for hours, the woman was quoted as saying by police. He succumbed to his injuries on Thursday.