In yet another incident of mob lynching, a 50-year-old Muslim man was lynched to death on suspicion of theft on Sunday. The man was first spotted by some vegetable vendors at around 5:30 a.m. while entering Bhangar market.
The victim, identified as Azgar Molla from the town’s Phulbari area, was found lying 500 meters from the Bhangar police station, which comes under the jurisdiction of the Kolkata Police.
Initially, passersby mistook Molla for being intoxicated, but he was declared dead upon arrival at the hospital. Locals had organized a night watch in the area following a theft in Bhangar Bazar, and the mob-lynching incident is believed to have occurred around 5:30 a.m. Witnesses allege that no one attempted to save Molla during the attack. Meanwhile, family members of Molla also alleged that no one came forward to save him.
Reportedly, the police have sent Molla’s body for a postmortem and have launched an investigation, despite not receiving any formal complaints.
Meanwhile, an officer said that the exact reason for the death was unclear; they are investigating if it was due to thrashings or not. ”We are speaking to several people, sending the body for a postmortem, and checking CCTV footage to know the exact cause of his death,” said a senior Kolkata Police officer. However, police said that the deceased was a drug addict, and his wife left him 12 years ago.
Meanwhile, Joy Prakash Majumdar, a leader of the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC), pointed to delays in the legislative process as a contributing factor. “Mamata Banerjee’s government had drafted a law against mob attacks and lynching, and it was sent to Raj Bhavan for approval when Jagdeep Dhankhar was Governor. Now the bill is stuck in Raj Bhawan with Governor C. V. Ananda Bose,” Majumdar stated.
Recent days have witnessed a surge in mob lynching cases across five districts of West Bengal. Several people have died while others were brutally injured.
