In Bengal, 60-year-old lynched after rumours about ‘outsiders on loose’

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Sub-Divisional Police Officer Priyabrata Roy told The Sunday Express that rumours had been circulating on social media about some “outsiders, kidnappers and rapists’’ from Pakistan who were in Burdwan to harm the locals. He added that eight people have been arrested, and 12 others detained.

Reports said that the mob overpowered the five and thrashed them with iron rods after finding a soiled knife, shovel and gardening tools in their bags. The tools confirmed their fears about the rumoured hostile outsiders.

Five police vehicles were damaged and three policemen were injured when they arrived at the scene. “When we tried to enter the village, even we had to face the mob that blocked roads. We had to resort to lathicharge to disperse the mob,’’ said an officer.

“All the injured were taken to Kalna, from where they were shifted to a Burdwan hospital. Anil Biswas succumbed to his injuries, while other four people are undergoing treatment,” the official said.

Burdwan District Magistrate Saumitra Mohan told The Indian Express that the rumours were first spread in Kalyani and other places in North-24 Parganas. She added that outsiders have been thrashed more once as a result.

“The one (mob attack) that happened in Kalna unfortunately claimed one life. We are investigating the source of such messages,” Mohan said.

The local administration is on high alert, and has started a campaign to dispel such rumours. “Anybody found guilty of spreading rumours through social networking sites will face legal action. He or she will immediately be arrested. If people find anything suspicious, they must inform police,’’ said Mohan.