Man lynched after his son damages neighbour’s phone

Police said Alimul Sheikh was killed hours he got into a scuffle with his neighbour, Malla Bakkas, after the latter accused the former’s seven-year-old son of stealing his phone.

A 31-year-old man’s neighbours allegedly thrashed him to death following an argument over the damage his son had caused to the smartphone of one of them in West Bengal’s Malda district on Saturday, a police officer said.

Police said all the accused, who belong to the same family, were absconding. (Representative image)

Police said Alimul Sheikh was killed hours he got into a scuffle with his neighbour, Malla Bakkas, after the latter accused the former’s seven-year-old son of stealing his phone. Locals intervened to stop the scuffle and the phone was later found lying where Bakkas’s grandson and Sheikh’s son were playing earlier.

“Around midnight, Bakkas along with his sons and daughters barged into Sheikh’s house and assaulted him with iron rods and lathis. They alleged that Sheikh’s son has damaged the mobile phone while playing with it,” said Mohammad Wahab, Sheikh’s brother.

He added when he rushed to rescue his brother, he found him in a pool of blood. “He was strangulated with a towel. We rushed him to the Malda Medical College and Hospital but he succumbed to his injuries,” said Wahab.

“We have received a complaint and a murder case has been initiated. The accused are on the run. A search has been launched and an investigation is going on. The body has been sent for autopsy,” said Malda police superintendent Alok Rajoria.