WB-LYNCH

One lynched on suspicion of being child lifter in Bengal, one
arrested
    Kolkata, Sep 11 (PTI) A person was lynched at Asansol
in West Bengal on Wednesday morning on suspicion of being a
child lifter, police said.
    One person has been arrested and several others have
been detained by the police for their alleged involvement in
the incident.
    The incident took place barely a fortnight after the
West Bengal assembly passed a bill on August 30 against mob
assault and incidents of lynching with provision for life
imprisonment to those injuring a person and capital punishment
for causing death.
    According to officials of Asansol Durgapur Police
Commissionerate, the unidentified person aged 35-40 years was
tied to a lamp post and beaten up on suspicion of being a
child lifter.
    He was later untied and thrashed again by the mob,
they said.
    A huge police contingent rushed to the spot on being
informed about the incident and rescued the man, who later
succumbed to his injuries in a state run hospital, the
officials said.
    "We are yet to identify the person. We have arrested
one person and have detained few others on the basis of video
clippings of the incident that went viral," a senior police
official said.
    "We have started an investigation into the case," he
added.
    The West Bengal (Prevention of Lynching) Bill, 2019,
was passed by a voice vote on August 30 in the Assembly in the
aftermath of a string of incidents in which people were beaten
to death over rumours of cattle smuggling and child lifting.
It has provision of jail term for three years to life
imprisonment in cases of assault leading to injury, besides a
fine ranging from Rs one lakh to Rs three lakh.
    In the event of the victim's death, the attackers
would be punished with death sentence or rigorous life
imprisonment and a fine of up to Rs five lakh. PTI PNT KK
KK KK

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from a PTI feed.)