Police in Rangpur’s Taraganj detained four suspects over the fatal mob beating of two Dalit men accused of stealing a van. The victims– Rupolal Das, a cobbler from Ghanirampur in Kursha Union, and his relative Pradeep Das, a van driver from Mithapukur’s Baluabhata village– were close family members.
Officer-in-charge of Taraganj police station, M.A. Faruq confirmed the deaths resulted from mob violence, with a case filed and an investigation underway. “We hope to find the real cause through interrogation,” he told BBC Bangla.
Locals said Rupolal Das was well-known in Taraganj for his cobbling work. His killing sparked outrage, leading residents to block the main road with his body in protest.
Family members suspect the killings were premeditated.
Nupur Rabi Das, Rupolal’s daughter, said her father went to pick up Pradeep, who had lost his way while visiting to discuss Nupur’s marriage. On their way back, they were stopped at a place called Bottola, where several people accused them of van theft and possession of homemade liquor.
Eyewitnesses say Rupolal repeatedly pleaded for his life, telling the crowd, “I am not a thief, I am not a robber, I mend shoes,” but the mob ignored him. The two were beaten, dragged to a nearby school field, and left unconscious.
Police later found them and took them to Taraganj Hospital, where Rupolal was declared dead; Pradeep died the next morning.
Video footage of the incident circulating on social media shows Rupolal with folded hands begging for mercy.
Community leaders, including Dalit divisional president Monilal Das, rejected the theft allegations, pointing to a massive human chain and protests as evidence. Locals believe simmering tensions over a recent child murder and van theft in late July may have fueled suspicion.
Some witnesses claimed that three women had been traveling in the van before the incident and spoke with locals at Bottola, after which the accusations began. Nupur Das maintains the incident had “nothing to do with theft, robbery, or drugs” and insists her father had prior threats from unknown individuals.
Union representatives from both the victims’ and the incident’s locations described Rupolal as a “good man” and believe the allegations were unfounded, the BBC Bangla reported.
Police say they are investigating all possible motives and have vowed to bring all involved to justice.
