Man lynched in Asansol; government hopes impact of anti-lynching law will be felt soon with strict punishment

A man was lynched in West Burdwan’s Asansol on Wednesday morning on being suspected to be a thief. The incident took place in Asansol’s Benjamari area.

Three men were seen strolling around when the local people suspected them of being thieves and started chasing after them. Two of them were able to flee while the third person was caught and was beaten black and blue by the mob.

Police rushed to the spot but failed to rescue him. Many accused the police of not doing enough. The injured person was taken to the hospital and pronounced dead.

This is the fourth time in a week that people were beaten up on suspicion in Asansol. Police Commissioner of Asansol, Devendra Pratap Singh said that the people behind the lynching will be identified from photographs clicked on mobile phones and from other available information.

In another incident on Tuesday night, a mentally unstable person was tied up to a tree and beaten up for being a suspected child lifter in Dinhata of Cooch Behar. He was rescued by police and admitted to hospital.

Such incidents have continued to happen despite the passing of the anti-lynching law in West Bengal, but the government is hopeful that strict implementation of the law will stop this in the long run.

A similar incident had happened in Raigunj of Jalpaiguri district in North Bengal within a week of the law being passed in the state Assembly. The police were attacked when they tried to save a person from being lynched. Seven people were arrested in the said incident.

According to the West Bengal (Prevention of Lynching) Bill, 2019, there will be a maximum punishment of life imprisonment and fines ranging from Rs 1 lakh to Rs 5 lakh for offences. It defines lynching as “Any attempt or act of violence by a mob on the grounds of religion, race, caste, sex, place of birth, language, dietary practices, sexual orientation, political affiliation, ethnicity, or any other ground”.

Even those found guilty of assisting or interfering with the accused will be punished with imprisonment of up to three years and fined a maximum Rs 1 lakh. It also proposes a maximum one-year jail term and a fine up to Rs 50,000 for “publishing, communicating or disseminating offensive material by any method – physical or electronic”. Those who create “a hostile environment for a person or a group of persons” face maximum prison term of three years and fine up to Rs 1 lakh.