A 23-year-old man was allegedly beaten to death in Hooghly district of West Bengal in the early hours of July 1 in the fourth such instance of lynching in the State within a week.
The victim, Biswajit Manna, was lynched in Tarakeswar area of the district after the two accused — businessmen Bikash Samanta and his son Debkanta Samanta — suspected him of stealing ₹50,000 from their house.
According to the victim’s mother, Manna, who was a driver, had come home from work and went to sleep when the accused allegedly dragged him out of the house around 11.30 p.m. on Sunday. “They accused him of stealing ₹50,000 from their house and lynched him with bamboo sticks and pipes, letting him go only after he begged them for mercy,” the grieving mother added.
Shortly afterwards, Manna returned home badly bruised with injuries and soon lost consciousness. Around 2 a.m., he was rushed to the nearby Tarakeswar Grameen Hospital, where he was declared dead.
Both Bikash Samanta and his son Debkanta Samanta were detained by the police.
This is the fifth instance of fatal mob lynching in the last four days in the State.
Jhargram lynching
On Sunday, a 23-year-old man succumbed to his injuries at Jhargram district hospital in West Bengal after being beaten up by a mob on June 22, police said.
The man who was identified as Sourabh Sau had been found injured on the road by locals in Jhargram near Jamboni area on June 22. He was admitted to the local hospital after which he succumbed to his injuries on Sunday.
On June 27, police registered a case against unknown people based on a complaint filed by Sau’s family. The victim’s family alleged that he was beaten up and assaulted by a group of men engaged by a contractor who were enraged by the allegations that Sau had attempted to steal parts of an earthmover, which was parked on the roadside.
The deceased man’s family claimed that Sau was travelling in his two-wheeler and was only resting on the roadside under a tree where the earthmover was parked.
Reacting to these incidents, State Municipal Affairs and Urban Development Minister Firhad Hakim said: “Mass hysteria can only be countered by mass counselling.”
Union Minister and BJP State president Sukanta Majumdar slammed the Trinamool Congress-led government and said they were failing to control such crimes in the State.
Published - July 01, 2024 09:13 pm IST
