Youth lynched for molestation attempt

An unidentified youth was beaten to death when he was caught sneaking into a house to molest a woman at Dhaniakhali in Hooghly late Tuesday night. The youth had injured four persons including a woman by stabbing them in an attempt to flee.

A police officer said the youth had somehow managed to enter the house when the woman was all alone and other members of the family were busy gossiping just outside the house when there was a power cut in the area.

Police suspect that the youth had entered the house scaling the boundary wall. The woman screamed finding the youth approaching her with a sharp knife in his hand. He had threatened the woman not to shout.

Hearing the woman’s cry for help, everyone ran inside the house and found the youth attempting to molest her. He had threatened others not to enter the room or else he would kill the woman.

Without taking the youth’s threat seriously, around six to seven people from the locality and other family members entered the room. The accused jumped on them when they approached to catch him and stabbed four persons including a woman. But he was caught by the others when he attempted to flee and the knife was snatched from him.

By that time many people from the locality had gathered outside the house and the mob started beating him up as soon as he was taken out. The beat him up till he fell unconscious. Policemen from Dhaniakhali police station rushed to the spot and dispersed the mob. They found the youth in a senseless condition and took him to Dhaniakhali Rural Hospital where he was declared brought dead.

The four other injured persons were admitted to another hospital in the district where they were under treatment.- Police initiated a probe into the incident and they are taking steps to identify the youth. A senior police officer said that it seemed that the youth had entered the house to decamp with valuables and to molest the woman.