Kolkata: Mother, son ‘lynched’ by neighbours

“While Gopal’s body was found in a drain, his mother’s was lying beside the drain. The two had been beaten with sticks and brickbats. A case has been registered against unidentified persons under Sections 302 and 34 of the IPC,” said a Chinsurah police officer. An eyewitness, on condition of anonymity, said the neighbours had been irritated with Gopal over his lifestyle and habits.

“He would return in an inebriated state almost everyday. On October 21, he beat up his wife very badly. She then went to her father’s house with their daughter, leaving behind their two sons aged eight and 11 years. The two boys were sleeping inside the house when the incident happened,” said an eyewitness, adding the two had been beaten for over 30 minutes.

“Police, however, reached the spot around 6 in the morning and recovered the bodies. They had come nearly six hours after the incident, and on top of that, have failed to arrest anyone so far,” the eyewitness added.

The Chinsurah officer said they were trying to get statements from eyewitnesses, but everyone seemed to be trying to keep a safe distance from the incident. “It is strange that we don’t have any eyewitnesses inspite of the fact that two persons were beaten to death. The bodies have been sent for postmortem,” he added.