Eleven people have been arrested after two persons were allegedly beaten to death over suspicion of cow smuggling at Putimari Fauleswari village in West Bengal's Coochbehar on Thursday.
Both deceased identified as Prakash Das and Babul Mitra were allegedly carrying stolen cattle in a pickup van.
Das and Mitra, residents of Mathavanga, were allegedly stopped by some villagers at Putimari Fauleswari village on Wednesday night.
After finding cows in the van, they pulled out the duo on suspicion of cattle smuggling and thrashed them brutally. The two sustained grievous injuries in the incident. The angry mob also torched the pickup van.
Later, local police rescued the victims and admitted them to the Coochbehar hospital. Shortly after admission, they succumbed to injuries. Following the incident, police have arrested 11 persons in connection with the lynching case.
Alina Yasmin, head of Putimari Fuleswari Gram Panchayat told media, "We were informed about the incident by locals at around 2 pm and the next morning, we found a vandalised van. The mob were attacked on suspicion of cattle theft."
"There is always a fear of cattle theft among the village. It is a very common incident in our village. However, this is for the time that two persons lost their lives due to theft," Rajkumar Barman, a local resident of Putimari Fauleswari village said.
A case has been registered and an investigation is underway into the matter.
( With inputs from ANI )