YAVATMAL: Junior home minister Hansraj Ahir said on Monday that the Narendra Modi government would soon bring a bill in Parliament to provide for death penalty for lynching.

"Lynching is a barbaric crime and no civilised society can accept it. The Union government will soon bring a bill to contain this crime. It will contain provisions of death penalty in case the Supreme Court directs the government to do so," Ahir said while meeting a delegation of the nomadic Nathjogi community here. Later, Ahir told TOI in Delhi that he was talking about Supreme Court's directions asking the Centre to enact a dedicated law against lynching. "I told them (Nathjogis) that the home ministry was working on the directions of the SC and a committee had been set up."

Five members of the Nathjogi community were lynched in Rainpada village of the Dhule district on July 1 by a mob which suspected the nomads to be child lifters. Ahir expressed grief over the killings and assured that the home ministry will issue identity cards to members of the Nathjogi community.

Delegation members said over 20,000 population of the nomadic community had no roof on their heads and their children were deprived of even primary education despite Right To Education (RTE) being in force. Nathjogis move across the country asking for alms for their daily needs.

