The death of Mubarak Ansari, who was tied to a pole and thrashed on suspicion of stealing a battery from a bike service centre in Bokaro early on Wednesday, was a case of mob lynching, Opposition leaders said on Thursday.

The online edition of the Oxford Learner’s Dictionaries defines lynching as “the illegal killing of somebody, usually by hanging, by a crowd of people and without a trial”.

Police, however, have denied the Bokaro incident was a case of “mob lynching”.

JVM Bokaro district president Prakash Singh called it a failure of the law and order machinery. “The administration must wake up and ensure speedy justice to the victim’s family,” he added.

Brajendra Prasad Singh, Dhanbad district president of the Congress, who is also a senior lawyer, also called it a case of mob lynching. “Several people were involved in the attack against Mubarak Ansari and another person who was with him. It is a clear-cut case of mob lynching. We will demand Rs 10 lakh compensation for the victim’s family,” Brajendra said.

Farijan Khatoon, Mubarak’s widow, told the media on Thursday that her husband used to run a small grocery shop at their village, Nai Basti, around 40km from Bokaro. “He was the sole bread earner of the family. My son Yusuf, 22, is unemployed. God knows how we will survive,” she said.

“We have a small plot of land near the service centre of Premchand Mahto at Govindpur, and we had a land dispute with him. He, his family members and some other local residents attacked my husband as part of a conspiracy.”

Vajifa Khatoon, wife of Akhtar Ansari who was with Mubarak and is undergoing treatment under police protection, said: “My husband is a daily wage earner and somehow used to eke out a living for us, our 5-year-old son Ashraf and 3-year-old daughter Ayesha Parveen. We are scared for our lives.”

On the complaint of one of the arrested Prem Chand’s sons, police have lodged a case under sections 379 (theft) and 411(dishonestly receiving stolen property) of the IPC against Akhtar. The complainant has alleged that Akhtar had stolen a motor pump, five chairs and other iron articles from their service centre on October 29.

So when Akhtar arrived again at their service centre early on Wednesday with Mubarak they caught him stealing a battery and beat them up, the complainant has said.

Bokaro Thermal police station officer in-charge Umesh Kumar Thakur said: “Mubarak’s last rites were performed peacefully and we are further investigating the case. We have already arrested all the named accused (in the murder) and sent them to jail.”

He said action against Akhtar would be taken after a probe.