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Ten people were arrested in Tiljala on Saturday night for allegedly leading a mob that lynched a woman branding her a child kidnapper and later torched two police vehicles.
Explosives and firearms were recovered from the possession of one of the accused.
The crackdown comes after three persons were branded kidnappers and lynched in as many weeks at Topsia, Tiljala and Narkeldanga.
“The 10 arrested led a mob in Tiljala on January 2 that lynched a woman who was carrying her own child. Later that night, the same group clashed with the police, injuring several of our personnel and burnt two vehicles,” said an officer at Lalbazar.
“Among the arrested, Mohammed Abdul alias Zaru has links with Guddu, a criminal currently in jail,” said a police officer at Lalbazar.
Cops recovered 5kg explosives, three improvised firearms and 10 rounds of ammunition from Abdul’s possession. “We will interrogate him to find out why he was hoarding explosives and firearms,” said the officer.
On Friday, senior officers of Calcutta police met residents of Tiljala, Topsia, Beniapukur, Entally, Rajabazar and Karaya to quash rumours that children were being abducted from these areas by a gang.
“The rumours were leading to major law and order problems. The police decided to crack down after the rumours spread from the Topsia-Tiljala-Tangra pocket to Narkeldanga,” said an officer.
The rumours that had been circulating since November led to the lynching of a woman at Darapara in Tiljala on December 28 night.
On January 2, about 200 people attacked a woman carrying her own child, who had suddenly started to cry. The lawlessness that ensued resulted in the transfer of Champak Bhattacharya from the post of deputy commissioner of the eastern suburban division.
On Thursday night, a man was lynched at Narkeldanga on the suspicion that he had abducted a child. The next day, a woman was attacked at Narkeldanga and a youth at Karaya for the same reason.
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