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News of Jan
3, 2007
Police Renew Probe into Briton's Lynching
By Shyam Pandharipande in Mumbai
and Prasun Sonwalkar in London
Mumbai/London, Jan 3
Police have begun renewed investigations into the death of a British
tourist who was lynched by a mob of village residents when he
allegedly tailed a woman at a remote area in Raigarh district of
Maharashtra, about 210 km from Mumbai.
Deputy Inspector General of Maharashtra Police (Konkan Range)
Satyapal Singh told IANS Wednesday that the police were
interrogating the woman, Nirmala Rane, once again to ascertain what
exactly transpired between her and the British tourist before the
Malasai villagers, including her husband and brother-in-law, beat
him up.
"The murder took place Dec 11, not Dec 10, and those who killed the
British national hanged the body to a tree in order to make it look
like suicide," Singh said.
Additional superintendent of police, Raigarh, Madhukar Talpade told
reporters, apparently on the basis of a train ticket recovered from
Stephen's pocket, that he boarded the Mandovi Express from Madgaon,
Goa, Dec 7, to travel up to Mumbai but got down at Roha on the way
possibly to take a look at the villages in the Konkan area.
"Seeing the foreigner, the woman, who had come out of her house to
respond to nature's call early morning, went back and locked the
door from inside," Talpade said.
"What was Stephen doing in the Konkan countryside for three days
from Dec 7, including the intervening night of Dec 9 and Dec 10 is
not known, nor have the police clarified as to why they did not
reveal the incident for so long a time. The renewed investigations
will bring out all the facts," Singh said.
According to reports from London, Bennett, 40, a resident of
Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, was on a holiday in India and was due
to return to Cheltenham before Christmas.
Family and neighbors of Bennett are shocked over the incident and
describe him as a "lovely guy" who kept to himself. His father,
Carol Bennett, who lives in the suburb of Leckhampton, said: "It is
too soon for us to talk about Stephen's death. We are still very
shocked. He just went away on holiday and this happened."
Paul Young, Bennett's neighbor who looked after his two cats while
he was away, told the media: "He went to India for a week-long break
just to get away from it all and see India, which was something he
really wanted to do.
"I spoke to him while he was there. He phoned home to check on his
cats. He was a big fan of Cheltenham Town football club and used to
go to their matches every weekend."
A resident of Cheltenham said: "It's really shocked everyone. He
seemed like a lovely guy but kept himself to himself".
A Gloucestershire Police spokesman said: "We have worked with the
Indian authorities to inform Stephen's family. But we are not going
any further than that. The investigation will be carried out by the
Indian police."
British media reports quoted local police official Vijay Patil as
saying that Bennett was lynched because the mob understood no
English and believed he was about to attack the woman. The police
have arrested four of the six accused namely, including Nirmala's
husband Ramesh Rane.
Patil reportedly said: "They thought he was harassing her or wanted
to rape her. They couldn't understand what he wanted to say. About
15 men beat him with sticks until he was dead."
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office spokesperson said that that it
had not been told whether any of the arrested men had been charged.
"All we know is that Indian police are treating Mr Bennett's death
as murder, though we have no information as to why he was in such a
remote place and what the possible motive could be".
Friends and colleagues of Blakey have decided to construct a centre
for the poor in India as a lasting memorial to him.
IANS
News of Jan
3, 2007
Family of UK Tourist Killed Near Mumbai
Shocked
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