Police on Monday claimed that a mob had deliberately prevented them on Saturday from reaching the site where Utpal Mondal and his wife Soma had been lynched at Nischintapur village of Tehatta, Nadia, for their suspected involvement in the murder of nine-year-old neighbour’s son, Swarnabha Biswas.

On Saturday, the body of Swarnabha was spotted in a ditch adjacent to the couple’s house. The mysterious death triggered violence on the suspicion that the Mondals were behind Swarnabha’s death. The collective anger of the villagers led to Utpal and Soma getting lynched and their daughter-in-law, Nisha, being severely assaulted.

Subdivisional police officer (SDPO) of Tehatta, Subhatosh Sarkar, told reporters that the police tried with “heart and soul” to reach the spot in time but failed.

“By the time police managed to reach the spot, it was quite late for the couple. Nevertheless, they were rescued and rushed to the hospital, where they were declared dead,” Sarkar said.

The clarification came amid growing questions about the lack of police alertness following the recovery of the missing child’s body. People questioned how the police, despite the presence of some constables and civic volunteers, failed to sense the escalating tension that ultimately led to the mob’s outburst and the couple’s lynching.

The SDPO reiterated that the mob repeatedly obstructed police efforts.

“The villagers not just tried to stop us repeatedly, rather they also put obstacles in the way of the firefighters when they were rushing in to douse the fire at the house of Utpal’s maternal uncle. We all tried our best to reach the lynching spot quickly, but were prevented by the violent villagers,” he said.

Two days after the incident, the police remained clueless about the identity of the child’s killer and the motive behind the crime. In this situation, investigators were largely banking on the forensic team’s report, which visited the deceased couple’s house or the suspected crime scene, under tight police guard. The forensic team visited the house on Monday and collected evidence for analysis.

Earlier, the police had deployed a sniffer dog as part of the probe.

“We are trying to line up all evidence, forensic examination reports, as well as the autopsy report to identify the killer and their motive,” the SDPO told reporters in Tehatta on Monday.

The police arrested two more persons, Shyamal Biswas, in connection with the lynching.

Ishita murder

Raghvendra Pratap Singh, a head constable of the BSF and father of Deshraj Singh, the prime accused in the murder of his Krishnanagar-based former fiancee Ishita Mullik, was brought to Krishnanagar town from Jaisalmer on Monday.

Raghvendra was arrested for allegedly helping his son Deshraj escape after murdering Ishita on August 25. On Sunday, he was handed over to Krishnanagar police by the BSF through Jaisalmer police and taken on transit remand by a local court.

He is scheduled to be produced in the court in Krishnanagar on Tuesday. Deshraj was taken to his Jethia-Dharampur home in Rajasthan, where police recovered his laptop,
sources said.