The mother of the Kishanganj policeman who was lynched by a mob in West Bengal died early Sunday morning, police said.
Ashwini Kumar, 52, an officer at Kishanganj police station in Bihar, was on Saturday lynched in Pantapara village in the Uttar Dinajpur district of Bengal, where he had gone with a team of eight police officers and two informants in search of a gang of suspected motorcycle thieves operating in Bihar.
West Bengal police arrested two more people in connection with the murder on Sunday, bringing the total number of arrests to five. The main accused Firoz Alam, at whose home Kumar was attacked, had been arrested earlier along with his mother and another person.
Kishanganj SP Kumar Ashish said on Sunday Kumar’s mother Urmila Devi, 70, collapsed upon seeing her son’s body at their home in Jankinagar in Purnea district, and died shortly after.
Sources in Purnea said the inspector’s mother had a history of heart disease.
The inspector and his mother were cremated on Sunday in their ancestral village.
Kishanganj police suspended seven officers for dereliction of duty for leaving Kumar behind in Pantarpara and fled when attacked.
“We suspended them for leaving the scene while Ashwini Kumar stayed to save the lives of the two informants,” said SP Kumar Ashish.
At 3 a.m. on Saturday, the police team led by Kumar found a stolen motorcycle near Alam’s house, after which the SHO began questioning some residents. Soon a crowd gathered in the area and attacked the police. While members of Kumar’s team reportedly escaped in a police vehicle, the SHO stayed behind to assist informants.
Kishanganj SP Kumar Ashish previously accused West Bengal police of citing election pledges not to provide assistance to the raid team. “In accordance with the provisions of the CRPC, a police team may conduct raids in the jurisdiction of another police station … If they had helped us, our officer would have been saved.”
Contributions from ENS, Kolkata