Thief Lynched Then hanged!

The Madina Police are appealing to the public to help identify a man suspected to have been lynched and later hanged upside down by a mob on suspicion of stealing electrical cables at Ashale Botwe near Madina, a suburb of Accra.

The lifeless body of the unidentified man believed to be a Fulani in his 20s was last weekend found hanging upside down on a mango tree at the Ashale Botwe cemetery.

Narrating the harrowing incident to the Daily Guide newspaper, the Madina District Commander, Superintendent Paul Aryeetey noted that on Sunday January 6, 2008, the Assembly member for Ashale Botwe, Michael Gasu called to inform the Police of the incident.

He said when a team of investigators were sent to the scene, the body, which was stripped naked, was dangling on the tree with a lot of blood dotting the ground underneath it.

Supt. Aryeetey noted that when on-the-scene investigations were conducted, it was discovered that the body was badly battered.A pair of pliers on the scene and some marks on the ground suggested that the body might have been dragged from a distance to where the deceased was finally ?crucified?.

He indicated that the body had been deposited at the Police Hospital for autopsy while investigations continue into the case to identify the deceased person and probably uncover identities of the mobsters behind the heinous crime.Supt. Mr. Aryeetey condemned the meting out of instant justice to suspected criminals and urged the public to desist from such acts as innocent persons could fall prey to ?street justice?.

When asked what the current crime situation in Madina and its environs was, Supt. Mr. Aryeetey said the Police in Madina were taking giant strides in the area of crime control.

He stressed that prudent measures had been put in place during and after the Christmas and New Year celebrations to ?disarm? the criminals before they struck.The District Commander pointed out that mobile phone and car snatching, which hitherto were very rampant in Madina and its environs, had been brought under considerable control.

He disclosed that the Police had mounted series of swoops on suspected areas believed to be the hide-outs of miscreants and succeeded in arresting a number of suspected criminals who would soon be screened for the appropriate actions to be taken against those found to be culpable. Supt. Mr. Aryeetey appealed to the public to volunteer information on suspected or suspicious characters to the Police for prompt action to be taken.

He assured the public of Police protection, especially regarding the identity of informants, stressing, ?If you are in doubt about your protection you can come straight to the commander and I will readily assist you.

?On some of the alleged frustrations complainants had to go through when dealing with the Police, Supt. Mr. Aryeetey told Daily Guide that police work demanded a lot of patience and that it was not a deliberate attempt to frustrate complainants. He therefore appealed to those who report cases to the Police to exercise patience since other factors such as logistics come into play when following a lead.