Five people have been arrested and two boys detained in West Bengal’s South 24 Parganas district for allegedly beating a Kerala man to death on June 9 after he lost his way and wandered into Sankegahan village, police said on Monday.
On Sunday, the District Justice Council sent Monday to a home for juvenile offenders. A local court placed three adult defendants before the judiciary and two in police custody.
Police cited their investigations and said that Sukhdeep, known as Sandeep, was a guest of Hiralal Das, a migrant worker in Kerala. They added that he accompanied Das when he returned home in June.
“The background of the deceased is not very clear. The investigation indicates that he could speak only a few Hindi words, and Das knew some Malayali words. Das claims that they became friends during his visits to Kerala and invited him home,” a police officer said.
He added that Das took the Kerala man to the local market on June 9, but the two became separated in the crowded area. “The Kerala man lost his way and reached Sankegahan, where locals found his movement suspicious. When he could not answer their questions, they tied him up and assaulted him on suspicion of being a criminal. Das was arrested as he could not escape responsibility,” the officer said.
