Kolkata: A real estate developer was lynched early Friday in West Bengal’s South 24 Parganas district. A senior police officer said that he was lynched on the suspicion of having stolen goats.
Abhik Mukherjee (33), a resident of Netajinagar in south Kolkata, had gone to Begampur village with a female friend on his motorcycle around 1.00am. However, 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. An unidentified caller had given information to the police about the lynching, police said.
Mukherjee was declared dead on being rushed to a local hospital. His female 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,” the uncle of Abhik Mukherjee said.
“Why did he go all the way to that remote area in South 24 Parganas at 1.00am? Who took him there; was a trap laid for him? We need to know all that,” he added.
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.
