Young criminal, mother lynched in Bengal

Kolkata, October 23

A man allegedly involved in anti-social activities has been lynched, along with his mother, in West Bengal's Hooghly district, the state police said on Sunday.

Gopal Majumdar (32), a resident of Chuchura in Hooghly district, was allegedly beaten to death by angry locals on Saturday night. His mother was also severely thrashed when she tried to intervene.

The bodies of Gopal and his mother were recovered from a nearby drain on Sunday.

According to locals, Gopal was involved in several anti-social activities like smuggling and extortion, and was arrested several times for such activities.

"He was in and out of jail many times. Maybe, the locals were fed up with his activities and beat him up," said a local.

The police said there were several complaints and cases against Gopal, including for murder.

"Gopal was arrested for murder in 2015 and was in judicial custody since then. He was released on bail a few months back," Hooghly Superintendent of Police Pravin Tripathi said.

Following the lynching of Gopal and his mother, a case of murder has been registered against the suspected villagers involved. But no one has been arrested yet.

"We are investigating the reason of their killing and recording statements of the locals. Legal action would be taken against the accused," Tripathi said. — IANS