Kolkata: In yet another incident of mob lynching in West Bengal's Alipurduar district, seven people have been arrested for killing a man on suspicion of being a child-lifter, police said on Monday.
"A man, nearly 35-years-old, was beaten to death on Sunday night near Tasati tea-estate. Seven people have been arrested and we are trying to find out the person's identity," said a senior officer of Alipurduar Police. The officer said that they had also nabbed two people for posting rumours on social media.
On Saturday, a youth was severely beaten up by a mob in Majher-dabri tea estate in Alipurduar on similar suspicions of child-kidnapping. He was later rescued by some locals and kept locked inside a primary school building. Rumours of another child-kidnapper being spotted were spread on Saturday night in the district's Lichutala area.
On July 24, six youths selling cookware from a van in Alipurduar district's Madarihat became the victim of mob violence as some locals suddenly attacked them on suspicion of being child-kidnappers. Three of the youths managed to flee but the rest were caught by the mob and beaten up badly before being rescued by police.
On July 22, a middle-aged man was stoned to death by locals in Jalpaiguri district's Nagrakata on suspicion of being a child-kidnapper. Six persons have been arrested in connection with the incident.
