2017 Chopra lynching
| Date | 22 June 2017 |
|---|---|
| Location | Durgapur, Chopra |
| District | Uttar Dinajpur |
| State | West Bengal |
| Coordinates | 26.3675°N 88.3076°E View on OpenStreetMap |
| Victims |
|
| Killed | 3 |
| Injured | 0 |
| Alleged trigger | Cattle theft |
| Allegation | Villagers accused the men of stealing cows from houses in the village |
| Legal status | Three men arrested in June 2017 and released on bail about two weeks later; no chargesheet had been filed as of January 2018; no later status found |
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.[1][2] Three men were arrested and later released on bail; the victims' families disputed the theft allegation and sought an independent investigation.[2][3]
Background
The three men lived in the Chopra area of Uttar Dinajpur district.[3] According to accounts published after visits to their families, they were young fathers who worked together in construction as masons and labour contractors.[2][3] 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.[2]
Incident
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.[1][4] 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.[1] The victims were identified as Nasirul Haque, 30, of Kutipara; Mohammad Samiruddin, 32, of Kandarpara; and Mohammad Nasir, 33, of Dhalugunj.[1]
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.[3] The attack was filmed and the video circulated online; the father of one victim said he identified his son from the footage.[2][3]
Investigation and legal proceedings
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.[1] 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.[2][3] 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.[2][3] No later information on the case was found in the sources consulted.
Reactions
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.[3] 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.[2][3] The families alleged that police had pressured them over the case; these claims were not independently confirmed.[3]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 "3 Men Beaten to Death in West Bengal For Alleged Cattle Theft". The Quint. 26 June 2017. Retrieved 31 October 2026.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 Souradeep Roy. "The story of three Bengali Muslim households which lost their men to lynching in 2017". SabrangIndia (co-published with Newsclick). 30 January 2018. Retrieved 31 October 2026.
- ↑ 3.00 3.01 3.02 3.03 3.04 3.05 3.06 3.07 3.08 3.09 Biswajit Roy. "The Bengal lynchings that made no news". SabrangIndia (from Countercurrents.org). 2 February 2018. Retrieved 31 October 2026.
- ↑ Wion Web Desk. "West Bengal: Two lynched allegedly for stealing cows". WION. 26 August 2017. Retrieved 31 October 2026.