The body of Mushtaq Ali, a resident of Badgo village in the Gagaha police station area, Gorakhpur, was found lying by the roadside in Thathauli village on Saturday morning. Locals out for a morning walk informed the police, who took the body into custody and sent it for post-mortem.
A video circulating on social media shows Mushtaq being brutally beaten by a group of villagers. It is being claimed that he died after the assault, which was reportedly carried out on suspicion of theft. Police said they have registered a case and taken one accused into custody.
However, some villagers gave a different account. According to Jabbar Ali, Om Prakash, and Deepak Singh, Mushtaq had been suffering from mental illness for some time and was undergoing treatment. They added that he had even visited the police station a day earlier.
Station in-charge Sushil Kumar Chaurasia said no external injury marks were visible on the body, and the exact cause of death will be confirmed after the post-mortem. “We are investigating the matter from all angles,” he said.
Mushtaq, around 45–48 years old, is survived by two sons and a daughter.
