Two killed, three injured in mob attack over suspected cattle theft near Bagdogra
Two men were beaten to death and three others injured after a mob attacked a group of people suspected of cattle theft in the Matigara-Bagdogra area of West Bengal's Darjeeling district in the early hours of Saturday, October 3, police said.
The deceased were identified as Md Sahid Akhtar, a resident of Sonapur in Chopra, North Dinajpur, and Shad Mohammad, a resident of Haryana. Additional Commissioner of Police Anirban Majumdar said one person died on the spot, while the other succumbed to his injuries. Two other injured men were identified as Akram Khan and Arif Khan.
According to police, a group of five to six people entered the Tarabari area in Matigara in a pickup van and attempted to load several cows onto the vehicle after allegedly stealing them. Villagers, already on alert following earlier reports of cattle theft in the region, spotted the group and raised an alarm. Two more men arrived at the scene in a separate vehicle to assist them, but the gathering crowd surrounded the entire group and began beating them. The mob set the pickup van on fire and extensively vandalised and overturned the other vehicle.
As the situation escalated, the group was chased further to the Dhimal area under Bagdogra police station, where they were caught again and subjected to further violence. The incident spread across areas falling under the jurisdiction of Matigara, Bagdogra and Panighata police stations before officers from all three stations arrived and brought the situation under control.
Siliguri Police Commissioner Syed Waqar Raza said an investigation had been launched and that all aspects of the case were being examined. Majumdar said strict action would be taken after examining both the allegations of cattle theft against the deceased and the mob's actions. Police are reviewing CCTV footage and questioning residents to identify those involved in the attack, and are separately verifying claims of cattle smuggling through trucks in the Naxalbari, Bagdogra and Matigara areas over the preceding days. Four people have reportedly been arrested so far. The bodies have been sent for post-mortem examination, and the investigation into both the alleged cattle theft and the killings is ongoing.