Kolkata, February 18
A real estate developer was lynched early on Friday in West Bengal’s South 24 Parganas district allegedly on the suspicion of having stolen goats, a senior police officer said.
Abhik Mukherjee (33), a resident of Netajinagar in south Kolkata, had gone to Begampur village with a female friend on his motorcycle around 1 am, when he was accosted by a group of villagers that accused them of stealing goats from locals, the officer stated.
The woman, however, managed to flee, but Mukherjee was tied to a lamp and beaten black and blue by the villagers before being rescued by the police that reached the spot on getting information about the incident from an unidentified caller, the senior officer said.
Mukherjee was declared dead on being rushed to a local hospital, while his friend, who later came out of hiding, was taken to the police station for questioning, the officer said.
The family of the deceased has claimed that foul play was involved in his murder as Mukherjee’s clothes, shoes and jewellery “gave enough indications of his upper middle-class background”.
“We want an impartial investigation, and exemplary punishment for the killers. We want to know if there was any love triangle or business rivalry involved.
“Why did he go all the way to that remote area in South 24 Parganas at 1 am? Who took him there; was a trap laid for him? We need to know all that,” the 33-year-old’s uncle said.
According to the officer, a manhunt was launched in the village following the incident, but most men were not at home during the search.
“Mukherjee’s friend is still in a state of shock. We are checking the phone records of the duo to find some clues,” the officer added.
