The Assin North District Police Command has rescued a young man from an angry mob at Assin Yaw Attah in the Assin North District of the Central Region after he was accused of attempting to attack a cocoa farmer on his farm.
The suspect, believed to be in his early 20s, sustained multiple injuries after he was severely beaten by residents before police officers from the Assin Breku Police Station intervened and rescued him.
According to eyewitnesses, the incident occurred when the suspect allegedly entered a cocoa farm belonging to a 19-year-old farmer identified only as Baba.
Residents claimed the suspect was armed with a stick and allegedly attempted to assault the farmer under circumstances that are still being investigated.
The farmer reportedly raised an alarm, prompting nearby residents to rush to the farm.
The crowd overpowered the suspect, tied him to a pole and subjected him to severe beatings in what appeared to be an act of mob justice.
The situation nearly turned fatal until an opinion leader in the community intervened and persuaded the agitated residents to stop the assault and hand the suspect over to the police.
Police officers from the Assin Breku Police Station responded swiftly after receiving a distress call.
They rescued the suspect from the crowd and transported him to the Assin Praso Presbyterian Hospital, where he is currently receiving treatment under police guard.
Speaking to the media, the Assin North District Police Commander, Superintendent Eric Yao Avudzi, strongly condemned the increasing incidents of mob justice in parts of the district, describing the practice as unlawful, dangerous and unacceptable.
He noted that this was not the first time such an incident had occurred in the district.
He recalled an earlier case in which a suspected criminal was beaten to death by a mob, with some members of the crowd allegedly attempting to set the body ablaze before police officers intervened.
Superintendent Avudzi stressed that no individual has the authority to punish a suspect outside the judicial system, emphasizing that every accused person is entitled to a fair hearing before the courts.
He appealed to residents to report suspected criminals to the police instead of taking the law into their own hands, warning that anyone found participating in mob attacks would be arrested and prosecuted.
The District Commander further disclosed that preliminary investigations suggest the suspect may be suffering from a mental health condition.
According to him, the man’s responses during police interrogation were inconsistent, while several residents informed investigators that he had been roaming around the community and exhibiting unusual behaviour before the incident.
Police have launched investigations into both the alleged attempted attack on the cocoa farmer and the assault on the suspect.
Authorities are also working to establish the suspect’s identity and trace his family members, while efforts are underway to identify and arrest those involved in the mob assault.
Story by Yaw Boagyan
