A mob in the Matigara-Bagdogra area of Siliguri in India’s West Bengal has killed a Muslim man on suspicion of cow smuggling, in an attack that has renewed concern about the safety of Muslims in India.
Late on Friday night, as a pickup van and a car entered the Tarabari area, a crowd surrounded them on suspicion. Without any legal process or checks, they began beating those inside. The van driver, Shahid Akhtar of Chopra in Uttar Dinajpur, was dragged out and killed by being struck on the head with a large stone, and the pickup was set on fire.
Four other young men abandoned the car and tried to flee, but the crowd chased them and caught them in the Dhimal Basti area of Bagdogra. They were beaten there too, and Shad Mohammad, from Haryana, later died while being treated in hospital. One man escaped and took refuge at Panighata police station. Several others, including Amir, Arif Khan and Akram, are in hospital with serious injuries.
Siliguri Metropolitan Police assistant commissioner (East) Anirban Majumdar has promised an investigation and said CCTV footage is being examined.
In a separate incident in Sonarpur, on the outskirts of Kolkata, a young man named Gopal Haldar was taken from a garage and beaten to death over an old murder grudge.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report