Four held for beating up and stealing man’s motorbike

Four youth were beaten up at Malda’s Bhabuk village in Fatepur gram panchayat on Monday, on the charge of stealing goats. The locals had caught them red-handed. They were beaten black and blue before the police team reached there to rescue them. The officers tried to shift those youth to a different location, but failed to tame the public rage. Locals snatched the accused youth from police van and started to beat them again. However, police finally managed to rescue the youth and sent them to a local hospital in critical situation. “The police officers put their best effort into saving those accused from mob fury, but were unable to cope up with the wild mob,” an eye witness said.

However, police learnt that at least 60-70 goats were stolen from the village in recent past which made the locals irate. “The youth were trying to carry those goats on a battery driven rickshaw. The locals stopped them to ask questions and they could not produce any answers. Then they were taken to a field in the middle of the village. At least 50 people started to beat them with wickets and bamboo sticks,” the eye witness added.

Meanwhile, the police said that the accused were addicted to drugs. They have been doing this since some months. They had sold a number of goats to the meat shop owners to earn money for addiction.

“We’ll arrest those youth after their release from the hospital. We’ve informed it to their parents,” said an investigating officer.