Kolkata: Two suspected cow thieves were allegedly lynched by villagers near Dhupguri of Jalpaiguri district in West Bengal in the early hours of Sunday morning.
Police sources said those killed were identified as Hafizul Sheikh (22) and Anwar Hussain (20). Hafizul is from Dhubri district in Assam while Anwar is from Patlahawa village in Coochbehar.
The incident took place around 3:30 am at Dadan-II village near Dhupguri village. The villagers alleged that three cow smugglers entered their village and managed to steal seven cows from the area.
On their way out, the driver of the van, allegedly carrying stolen cows, lost his way. The night village guards noticed the van roaming suspiciously in the area and alerted the villagers.
The vehicle was intercepted and Hafizul and Anwar were caught allegedly with the stolen cows. However, the driver of the van managed to flee.
“When youths failed to explain why they were roaming in the village in odd hours – the angry villagers lynched them on suspicion of cow thieves,” a senior police officer said.
“We have detained three people in this connection with the incident and are looking for the accused. We are inquiring whether they were actual cattle thieves or bought the cows from a cattle market in the area,” he said, while adding that it is not yet confirmed that they were cow thieves.
Villagers had been complaining to the police of the rising cases os cow theft. But when the cops failed to put an end to the problem, the villagers formed their own village guard committee to protect cows from being smuggled.
In a similar incident on June 23, three people were lynched in West Bengal's North Dinajpur district after they were allegedly caught stealing cows from a house.