West Bengal: Two men lynched to death by villagers for allegedly stealing cows in Jalpaiguri

Two youth, suspected to be cow thieves were allegedly lynched by the villagers near Dhupguri of Jalpaiguri district in West Bengal. According to a report in Indian Express, the incident took place on Sunday morning around 3 AM in a village 15 km from Dhugpuri town.

The deceased have been identified as Hafizul Sheikh and Anwar Hussain. Hafizul Sheikh hailed from  Dhubri district in Assam and Hussain was a resident of Patlahawa, Coochbehar district in Bengal.

The victims were reportedly travelling on a pickup van in the village with seven cows. It’s believed that they lost their way and alarmed villages stopped the van but they fled.

Later, a larger group of villagers blocked the path of the van and while the driver fled, the two passengers were caught.

It’s believed that the villagers lynched the two on suspicion of being cow thieves, and when police recovered their bodies and took them for post-mortem, they were declared dead.

 “The bodies have been sent for post-mortem and we have started an investigation,” said a senior police officer of Jalpaiguri district.

Police are still unaware whether the victims were cow thieves or cattle traders, who had gone to buy the cattle from the nearby market in the area.