Two men were beaten to death in Taraganj upazila of Rangpur on Saturday night on suspicion of stealing a van. The incident took place around 9:00 pm in the Bot-tola area of Burirhat, Sayer Union.
The victims were identified as Rupalal Das, 40, of Ghanirampur in Kursha Union, and Pradip Das, 35, of Baluabhatta village in Mithapukur upazila. Pradip was married to Rupalal’s niece. According to family members, Rupalal worked as a cobbler, while Pradip drove a van.
Family members, police, and eyewitnesses said Pradip had set out from Mithapukur on Saturday evening to visit Rupalal’s house to finalise the date for the marriage of Rupalal’s daughter, Nupur Das, to a youth from Shyampur. As Pradip was unfamiliar with the area, he called Rupalal from Kazirhat in Sayer Union. Rupalal met him there, and they began travelling together toward Ghanirampur on Pradip’s van.
When they reached Bot-tola around 9:00 pm, several locals stopped them, suspecting them to be van thieves. A crowd soon gathered. Locals were reportedly on edge after a child was murdered and a van stolen in the area on July 28.
Witnesses said locals found four small plastic bottles inside a sack on the van, which family members said contained homemade liquor. After opening one, two people allegedly felt unwell from the smell, heightening suspicion that the pair might be using the substance to incapacitate others and steal vans. The men were then beaten, dragged to Burirhat High School field, and left unconscious.
Police rescued them around 11:00 pm and took them to Taraganj Upazila Health Complex, where doctors declared Rupalal dead. Pradip was transferred to Rangpur Medical College Hospital, where he died early Sunday morning, confirmed Rupalal’s brother, Khokon Das.
Taraganj Police Station Officer-in-Charge M A Faruque said the two died from mob beating and that a case is being prepared.
Rupalal’s mother, elderly Lalicha Das, insisted her son was innocent: “My son was no thief. He made a living mending shoes. Everyone in Taraganj knew him. He went only to guide his nephew-in-law who didn’t know the way, to arrange his daughter’s marriage. That became his doom. I demand justice for my son’s killing.”
