Bengal: Mob beats student to death on suspicion of mango theft

A first-year college student was beaten to death by locals on suspicion that he stole mangoes from an orchard. The incident took place at the Haridevpur area on the southern fringes of Kolkata on June 2.

Aniruddho Biswas, 19, succumbed to his injuries at a city hospital on Wednesday. Police arrested two people, Bablu Balmiki and Chinmoy Sarkar, of Haridevpur, in this connection.

“My son was beaten up severely by some youths while he was sitting in the orchard. They kept shouting that he had stolen mangoes. My son pleaded with them but they did not listen,” Biswajit Biswas, the victim’s father, said.

“When we went to the police to lodge an FIR and asked them to arrest the culprits, they shooed us off,” added Biswas.

According to family members, Aniruddho passed his higher secondary examination this year in 1st division. He then took admission at Ashutosh College, opting for computer science.

Family members also said he was ill for the past few weeks. On June 2, his mother asked his friends to take him out for some fresh air. They took him to a nearby mango orchard in the afternoon when a group of people, holding iron rods and bamboo poles, confronted them.

“The mob caught up with Aniruddho and alleged that he stole mangoes from the orchard. He kept pleading that he was a neighbour and not a thief. But no one paid heed and started beating him up. He was hit on the head with an iron rod and lost consciousness,” Biswas said.

Aniruddho was taken to the M R Bangur government hospital and later shifted to a private hospital as his condition deteriorated. He died late on Tuesday.

“We have arrested two persons and a case has been initiated,” police said.