Jaigaon, Jan. 6: A man went missing here yesterday amid allegations that a mob had tied him to a jeep and dragged him for 2km before pouring acid in his eyes, smashing his head and dumping him in the Torsa.

Santosh Rai had been accused of stealing betel nuts worth Rs 200.

His family has not lodged a police complaint out of fear.

At Dakshin Ballalguri village, nestled among tea garde-ns 50km from Jaigaon, the Rais were huddled together in their house today.

Santosh’s brother Raju recounted the chain of events after much prodding.

Around 7am yesterday, Raju heard that two villagers had caught Santosh with a sack of raw betel nuts near Haldibari Tea Estate, 10km away. He was brought to the village and allegedly tied to a tree and beaten up. “Then he was dragged away behind a Commander jeep to the panchayat office.”

Raju and his maternal uncle Nanda Kumar followed the mob. “They poured acid on his eyes and smashed his head with stones and rods. We watched helplessly,” said Raju.

He saw Santosh the last time when he was being dragged towards the river.

The two nearest police stations denied knowledge of the incident.