In the wee hours of Monday, a young tricycle rider, who is commonly referred to as IGP in Bogoso township, was c@ught red-handed stealing at a local washing bay close to the newly built Bogoso Government Hospital.
The att@ck is said to have happened at around 3:00 a.m. when keen residents who had been on the lookout after cases of theft were reported noticed the activities at the washing bay and raised the alarm.
The suspect was then trying to steal items like water tanks as well as engine parts – things that had been disappearing mysteriously in the area over the last few weeks.
Eyewitnesses said that people have long suspected them of petty thefts on the street, as everybody accused “IGP” of things that have disappeared in the washing bay and from surrounding shops.
The locals alleged that he used his tricycle, commonly referred to as a pragya, to take stolen goods in the pretext of the normal transport business.
Unluckily to him, the attempt made on Monday was the last. The youth was caught red-handed by residents who had become more frustrated over the unfettered stealing. It was then a bloody show of mob justice.
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According to witnesses, the mob stripped the suspect naked, tied his hands around an electric pole located in the area, and extensively beat him up.
The photos and videos of this accident were later posted online, with internet users giving varied responses.
Although there is an opinion that the citizens were fully justified in attacking the suspect, there is a group that has criticized the mob action and urged that legal processes must be followed in such instances.
One commenter said, “We get your frustration, but don’t take the law in your hands.”
The suspect sustained several bruises and was subsequently taken to Bogoso Police to had him investigated further.
The episode contributes to the ongoing debate of increasing petty crime in local communities and the deadly increase in mob rule, commonly overstepping the courts.
Villagers are asking the government to beef up security and put cameras in strategic locations to thwart such in the future.
