By IANS
Kolkata : Three days after a mob poured acid into the eyes of a man for allegedly stealing betel nuts in a West Bengal village, the police said they were yet to arrest anyone and the victim remained missing.
“We have not made any arrest so far. The probe is continuing,” Jalpaiguri Superintendent of Police S. Tripurari told IANS.
The official could not say anything about the man’s whereabouts after the incident.
On Saturday, some villagers of South Ballalguri in Jalpaiguri, about 700 km from here, tied Santosh Rai to a jeep and dragged him for about two kilometres to the panchayat office where acid was poured into his eyes for allegedly stealing betel nuts.
Media reports quoting eyewitnesses said Santosh was beaten up with iron rods and wooden sticks.
In his police complaint, Santosh’s brother Raju Rai Sunday alleged Santosh’s head was smashed with stones as more than 100 people stood by and cheered.
“We couldn’t lodge an FIR (first information report) for two days. I have no idea whether my brother is alive or not. I heard they were planning to lynch him and throw him into the river,” Raju alleged.
The incident reminded many of last year’s lynching of an alleged thief in Bhagalpur of Bihar.