West Bengal: Irate mob lynches student to death over suspicion of stealing cattle

An irate mob in West Bengal’s South 24 Parganas district on Tuesday killed one student, suspecting him to be a cattle thief.  The Barasat ITI student, Kaushik Purkait was allegedly lynched by the mob when he was roaming around the cattle on Monday night, when locals suddenly surrounded him and held him hostage. 

Purkait was a resident from South 24 parganas dictrict’s Diamond Harbour area. 

Purkait’s family members claim that a Trinamool Congress Panchayat Samity member, Tapas Mullick asked for Rs.1,50,000 for his release. They also claim that Mullick had made Purkait sign a bond of Rs.60,000 for his release. When he refused, he ordered the mob to attack him.

When the student’s parents got information of their son being attacked and abandoned, they took him to a state-run hospital in Kolkata. However, he succumbed to his injuries in the hospital. 

Meanwhile, the parents have registered a complaint with the Diamond Harbour police station and demanded immediate action against the accused. District police have also begun an investigation into the case. 

On the other hand, Mullick has been absconding after the incident.