Woman lynched on suspicion of theft in Bengal dies

A woman was allegedly lynched by more than dozen people on suspicion of theft in the South 24 Paraganas district of West Bengal. The accused also beat up her husband, police sources said. Four persons have been arrested in relation to the case so far.

According to sources in the district police, the incident took place in the Chinepukur village under the Kashipur Police station in the district on Friday. They also said that Ali Hossein Molla, the husband of the deceased Sufia Bibi (41), stated in his complaint that around 14 people from his neighborhood suddenly confronted him and accused him of stealing stuff from their homes.

When Ali denied the allegation, they pounced on him and started beating him with rods and sticks. The accused started to assault his wife after she tried to intervene. She sustained serious injuries during the assault.

Locals first took them to a nearby primary health centre from where they were shifted to hospital in Kolkata. Sufia Bibi was declared brought dead by doctors.

Police sources said that the main accused, along with three others, were arrested and search was on for the remaining.

“We will soon nab the rest of the accused,” a district police official said.