A 22-year-old mentally challenged man was lynched by a group of people on suspicion of him being a thief at a village in North Dinapur district on Tuesday night.

Sources said Sheikh Zamiruddin, a resident of Uttar Kachra village under Karandighi police station of the district, had been to his maternal grandparents’ house in Lahutara, a neighbouring village.

“Around 11.30pm, Zamiruddin was intercepted by some villagers while he on his way home on a bicycle. The villagers started questioning him and as he could not satisfy them with his answers, they suspected him to be a thief. The villagers then dragged and fastened him with a pole and beat him up ruthlessly,” said a source.

Asadur Rehman, his cousin, said they got information about the incident in the wee hours of Wednesday.

“Around 3am, we rushed to the spot. Zamiruddin was almost unconscious and people were still beating him up. We showed them medical prescriptions to prove that he is a mental patient and not a thief but they didn’t listen and went on beating him,” Rehman added.

Later, police reached the spot and rescued Zamiruddin. He was taken to the local rural hospital from where doctors referred him to Raiganj Government Medical College and Hospital. Later, he was pronounced dead at the larger hospital.

“We want the police to arrest all those involved in the attack,” said Rehman.

No arrests have been reported so far.

A couple of years back, such incidents of attacks and lynching of people spotted in rural belts were reported in a number of locations across north Bengal, especially in Malda district.