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A man named Aslam Khan was lynched in Asansol in West Bengal on Wednesday, 11 September morning, on the suspicion that he was a child lifter. A person has been arrested in connection with the incident, the police said.
Several others have been detained for their alleged involvement in the incident, which took place in the Salanpur area, they said.
The lynching is the second in a week and took place barely a fortnight after the state Assembly passed the West Bengal (Prevention of Lynching) Bill, 2019 to curb such incidents.
According to officials of Asansol Durgapur Police Commissionerate, the unidentified person was aged between 35-40 years and had allegedly been moving around suspiciously in the area since morning. He was suspected to be a child lifter, tied to a lamp post and subsequently beaten up severely by many people.
He was later untied and thrashed again by them, the police said.
A huge police contingent rushed to the spot upon being informed about the incident and rescued the man, who later succumbed to his injuries in a state-run hospital, the officials said.
“We are yet to identify the dead person. We have arrested one person and have detained few others on the basis of video clippings of the incident that went viral.”Senior Police Official
“We have started a probe into the case,” he added.
West Bengal (Prevention of Lynching) Bill, 2019
The West Bengal (Prevention of Lynching) Bill, 2019, was passed by voice vote on 30 August in the Assembly in the aftermath of a string of incidents in which people were beaten to death over rumours of cattle smuggling and child lifting.
The Bill has the provision of jail term for three years to life imprisonment in cases of assault leading to injury, besides a fine ranging from Rs 1 lakh to Rs 3 lakh.
In the event of the victim's death, the attackers would be punished with death sentence or rigorous life imprisonment and a fine of up to Rs 5 lakh.
This is the second incidence of lynching in the state after the passage of the Bill.
Political Debate Over Lynching Incidents
On 4 September, a mason, Khabir Sheikh, died after he was thrashed by unidentified people inside a clinic. He was pronounced dead on arrival at Murshidabad Medical College and Hospital.
Three other incidents of assault had been reported from various parts of the state but the victims had survived.
The incidents of lynching have kickstarted a political debate in the state with TMC and the BJP blaming each other for the same.
“In the incidents of lynching, law will take its own course. But I would like to mention that wherever BJP is in power or is trying to gain ground, there have been rampant incidents of lynchings,” senior TMC leader and West Bengal Minister Firhad Hakim said.
“The BJP and its affiliates support lynching and use it as a tool to terrorise people,” he added.
The BJP, which has made deep inroads in the state and looks to defeat the Mamata Banerjee-led government in the 2021 Assembly polls, has termed the allegations against it ‘baseless’.
“In these incidents no BJP leader nor worker was involved. Actually these lynchings prove that law and order has gone for a toss in Bengal under the TMC regime,”Dilip Gosh, BJP State President
State Congress President Somen Mitra said the state government has failed to control incidents of lynching and should take strict action against the culprits.
Senior CPI(M) leader Sujan Chakraborty criticised the TMC government and said that though the state has passed the Bill, it has failed to control incidents of lynching and mob assault.
(This piece has been edited for clarity.)
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