India Lynch Mob Photos: Shocking Pictures And Video Show Accused Rapist Syed Farid Khan Brutally Murdered By Mob

Pictures of a lynch mob in India brutally beating and murdering an accused rapist have circulated online, shocking viewers and generating controversy over whether the images are too graphic to be included with news stories.

The incident took place in northeastern India, where several thousand people gathered at the Dimapur central prison and overpowered guards to seize Syed Farid Khan, who was accused of raping a woman last month. The man was dragged out of the prison and stripped naked while the crowd beat him. He was eventually killed and his naked body tied to a fence.

“No, this is a very unfortunate incident that took place yesterday… Actually the culprit was booked, and forwarded to judicial custody and he was in Central Jail. But despite public asking to extend the interrogation and take action on the culprit. They forcibly they have taken out. So, the security people were overpowered and they could not contain the situation,” Nagaland Chief Minister TR Zeliang told NDTV on Friday morning.

The brutal mob killing took place as tensions have risen in India regarding violence against women. This has been sparked in part by the BBC documentary India’s Daughter, which highlighted the 2012 gang rape and murder of 23-year-old Jyoti Singh.

Singh’s murder sparked widespread protest in India and calls for authorities to better protect women and prosecute men who rape and attack them. The mob killing in India this week started as part of a planned protest that grew out of hand.

Now, the pictures of the brutal mob killing are generating another kind of controversy. The entire gruesome incident was documented by news photographers and captured by members of the mob themselves, with many pictures appearing online.

Some news reports chose not to publish the more graphic mob lynching pictures, or simply showed pictures of the crowd that numbered in the thousand. Others showed pictures of the deceased accused rapist but with his face and gaping wounds blurred out.

But others showed the pictures and video of the brutal murder in its entirety, generating controversy of what might be acceptable. Many commenters decried the decision, saying the images were inappropriate.

“Their anger is understandable but he hadn’t been found guilty and the number of people taking photos and grinning is dreadful,” noted one reader.

The graphic pictures of the India lynch mob killing rape suspect Syed Farid Khan can be found here, while NDTV has video here.

[Image via New York Times]