Edit incident article: 2017 Chopra lynching

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<languages/> <translate> <!--T:9--> The '''2017 Chopra lynching''' was the killing of three Muslim men, Nasirul Haque, Mohammad Samiruddin and Mohammad Nasiruddin, who were beaten to death by villagers in Uttar Dinajpur district, [[West Bengal]], on 22 June 2017 after being accused of stealing cows.<ref name="quint-2017" /><ref name="sabrang-2018a" /> Three men were arrested and later released on bail; the victims' families disputed the theft allegation and sought an independent investigation.<ref name="sabrang-2018a" /><ref name="sabrang-2018b" /> == Background == <!--T:10--> <!--T:11--> The three men lived in the Chopra area of Uttar Dinajpur district.<ref name="sabrang-2018b" /> According to accounts published after visits to their families, they were young fathers who worked together in construction as masons and labour contractors.<ref name="sabrang-2018a" /><ref name="sabrang-2018b" /> The Indian Express, as cited by later reports, reported that residents of the villages in Durgapur had lodged more than two dozen complaints about theft with Chopra police.<ref name="sabrang-2018a" /> == Incident == <!--T:12--> <!--T:13--> On 22 June 2017 three men were beaten to death by residents of a village in Uttar Dinajpur who accused them of stealing cows from a house there.<ref name="quint-2017" /><ref name="wion-2017" /> The Quint, citing The Indian Express, reported that about ten men had entered the village and stolen cows from two houses, and that residents chased and beat those they caught.<ref name="quint-2017" /> The victims were identified as Nasirul Haque, 30, of Kutipara; Mohammad Samiruddin, 32, of Kandarpara; and Mohammad Nasir, 33, of Dhalugunj.<ref name="quint-2017" /> <!--T:14--> Later accounts place the killings at Durgapur, a village under Chopra police station. The families said the men had been lured from home by phone calls that evening and were not thieves.<ref name="sabrang-2018b" /> The attack was filmed and the video circulated online; the father of one victim said he identified his son from the footage.<ref name="sabrang-2018a" /><ref name="sabrang-2018b" /> == Investigation and legal proceedings == <!--T:15--> <!--T:16--> The district superintendent of police, Amit Kumar Bharat Rathod, said the victims had past records of cattle theft and that raids were being conducted; an official said an impartial inquiry had been ordered. Police arrested three local men.<ref name="quint-2017" /> The case was registered under Section 304 of the Indian Penal Code, culpable homicide not amounting to murder, rather than Section 302 (murder). The three arrested men were released on bail about two weeks later.<ref name="sabrang-2018a" /><ref name="sabrang-2018b" /> As of January 2018, about six months after the killings, police had not filed a chargesheet. The families wrote to the sub-divisional officer seeking a CBI or CID inquiry.<ref name="sabrang-2018a" /><ref name="sabrang-2018b" /> No later information on the case was found in the sources consulted. == Reactions == <!--T:17--> <!--T:18--> A retired Kolkata journalist later wrote that the killings received little news coverage and drew a smaller response from the state government than other hate killings.<ref name="sabrang-2018b" /> In January 2018 a civil society group from the Karwan-e-Mohabbat campaign, including Harsh Mander and John Dayal, visited the families and Chopra police station. The officer in charge told them he had been instructed by the superintendent of police not to comment, and Mander said he was disappointed with the state administration.<ref name="sabrang-2018a" /><ref name="sabrang-2018b" /> The families alleged that police had pressured them over the case; these claims were not independently confirmed.<ref name="sabrang-2018b" /> </translate> == <translate><!--T:19--> References</translate> == <references> <ref name="quint-2017">{{Cite news|url=https://www.thequint.com/news/india/three-muslim-men-lynched-in-west-bengal-dinajpur|title=3 Men Beaten to Death in West Bengal For Alleged Cattle Theft|publisher=The Quint|date=2017-06-26|access-date=2026-10-31}}</ref> <ref name="wion-2017">{{Cite news|url=https://www.wionews.com/india-news/west-bengal-two-lynched-allegedly-for-stealing-cows-19556|title=West Bengal: Two lynched allegedly for stealing cows|publisher=WION|date=2017-08-26|author=Wion Web Desk|access-date=2026-10-31}}</ref> <ref name="sabrang-2018a">{{Cite news|url=https://sabrangindia.in/story-three-bengali-muslim-households-which-lost-their-men-lynching-2017|title=The story of three Bengali Muslim households which lost their men to lynching in 2017|publisher=SabrangIndia (co-published with Newsclick)|date=2018-01-30|author=Souradeep Roy|access-date=2026-10-31}}</ref> <ref name="sabrang-2018b">{{Cite news|url=https://sabrangindia.in/bengal-lynchings-made-no-news/|title=The Bengal lynchings that made no news|publisher=SabrangIndia (from Countercurrents.org)|date=2018-02-02|author=Biswajit Roy|access-date=2026-10-31}}</ref> </references> {{Incident navbox}}