Man lynched on suspicion of being child lifter in WB, one arrested

A man was beaten to death by villagers on suspicion of child theft in West Bengal's Asansol. Various such instance has happened in West Bengal since the state assembly passed the West Bengal Prevention of Lynching Bill 2019 on August 30.

Salanpur (West Bengal): A person was lynched at Asansol in West Bengal on Wednesday morning on suspicion of being a child lifter, police said.

One person has been arrested and several others have been detained by the police for their alleged involvement in the incident. The incident took place barely a fortnight after the West Bengal assembly passed a bill on August 30 against mob assault and incidents of lynching with provision for life imprisonment to those injuring a person and capital punishment for causing death.

According to officials of Asansol Durgapur Police Commissionerate, the unidentified person aged 35-40 years was tied to a lamp post and beaten up on suspicion of being a child lifter.

He was later untied and thrashed again by the mob, they said. A huge police contingent rushed to the spot on being informed about the incident and rescued the man, who later succumbed to his injuries in a state run hospital, the officials said.

"We are yet to identify the person. We have arrested one person and have detained few others on the basis of video clippings of the incident that went viral," a senior police official said.

"We have started an investigation into the case," he added. The West Bengal (Prevention of Lynching) Bill, 2019, was passed by a voice vote on August 30 in the Assembly in the aftermath of astring of incidents in which people were beaten to death over rumours of cattle smuggling and child lifting. It has provision of jail term for three years to life imprisonment in cases of assault leading to injury, besides a fine ranging from Rs one lakh to Rs three lakh.

In the event of the victim's death, the attackers would be punished with death sentence or rigorous life imprisonment and a fine of up to Rs five lakh.