West Bengal: Bangladeshi national lynched over cattle theft, 3 arrested

A Bangladeshi man was lynched at a border village in West Bengal’s Jalpaiguri district on Wednesday after he was caught while allegedly trying to steal cows from a house, police said.

A gang of Bangladeshi men crossed over to India on Tuesday night for stealing cows from a house in Barua Para in Kukurjan area of Rajganj block, police said.

All members of the gang managed to cross back to Bangladesh when alert locals chased them, but one of the thieves couldn’t cross the border and fled to a nearby tea garden, they said.

The locals waited for him throughout the night, and at daybreak, they got hold of him and allegedly beat him to death, police said.

The deceased was identified as Md Salam. He was a native of Panchagarh district in Rangpur division of northern Bangladesh, they said.

Three people have been arrested in connection with the lynching, they added.

“Some people have been arrested in connection with the lynching. Rajganj police station has been asked to probe the case,” Superintendent of Police Debarshi Dutta said.

Nripen Roy, whose house was attacked by the gang, said, “When the gang was chased, they fled leaving behind the cows. All of them crossed the border back to Bangladesh, except one. He died after being beaten up. Cows were stolen from our village earlier as well.”