An 18-year-old boy in Kolkata's Thakurpukur district died after he was beaten up on suspicions of stealing mangoes. Aniruddha Biswas, who was suffering from jaundice, had just gone for a stroll with a friend in his neighbourhood last Thursday when two men in their 40s accused him of throwing stones at a mango tree and breaking a window pane, and beat him up even as neighbours watched. He was later admitted to hospital after he complained of severe abdominal pain and was passing blood with urine. He succumbed to his injuries Tuesday night.
"He was my only son and wanted to study computer science," Aniruddha's father Biswajit Biswas told The Telegraph. "Why would he steal mangoes? And does someone have the strength or the will to steal a mango while running a temperature of 102 degrees?" He had apparently stepped out to get some fresh air on his mother's advice.
As per reports, they stopped beating the ill boy only after some passers-by intervened and said that Aniruddha lived in the neighbourhood.
Doctors at the private hospital who were treating Aniruddha reportedly said that he had died due to "internal haemorrhage" and that the beating caused him several internal injuries. Police have arrested the two men who allegedly beat up Aniruddha. They have been identified as Chinmoy Sardar and Vinod Balmiki. Local news reports indicate that Sardar, known as a "hothead", thought that Aniruddha had broken his window pane while attempting to steal mangoes nearby, and that Balmiki, who is reportedly known as an "alcoholic" in the neighbourhood, joined in.
Both the accused have been charged with murder. Some other men who also joined the assault against Aniruddha are reportedly still on the run. Aniruddha's father alleged that cops had initially refused to lodge a complaint following the assault on his son.
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