Pragya burnt, rider beaten to death for alleged theft of second-hand shoes in Cape Coast
Pragya, a type of tricycle commonly used for transportation, was set on fire, reducing it to ashes at the Mfantsipim Round-about School gate.
The rider of the Pragya was also beaten to death for his alleged involvement in a theft committed using the vehicle.
The incident happened on Monday dawn.
According to Emmanuel Sam, the Secretary of the Pragya Riders Association in the Cape Coast Metropolis, the deceased, along with two friends, used the Pragya to allegedly steal fully loaded sacks of second-hand shoes from Esikafo Ambatem near the Mfantsipim School gate.
Their luck ran out when they were pursued by angry residents of the area, leading to the arrest and beating of the deceased by some irate youth.
The secretary expressed his concern about the incident and appealed to the Cape Coast Metropolitan Assembly to implement an identification number system for all registered Pragya vehicles in the metropolis.
He believes that such a system would help in identifying unregistered vehicles and removing disobedient riders from the road.
Evans Owusu, the leader of the second-hand shoe dealers, shared his account of the frequent thefts that have been taking place, with several sacks of shoes being stolen on a weekly basis.
According to him, each sack of shoes is valued at GHC 2,500, and sometimes they manage to steal four or five sacks in a single week. The rampant stealing has caused tensions within their group, as they suspect some of their own workers to be involved.
Mr Owusu mentioned that during the latest theft attempt, they were caught in the act when one of their members raised an alarm.
They were then pursued and apprehended by furious residents of the area. The following morning, they discovered that their Pragya, which had been used for their alleged criminal activities, had been set ablaze, and one of the riders had been severely beaten.
Meanwhile, the deceased body has been deposited at the morgue.
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