Woman 'caught with seven-month-old baby in bag' on train, attacked by passengers in Bengal

Police had to resort to lathicharge as passengers protested at Birati railway station in West Bengal demanding that the woman be handed over to them.

West Bengal local train Police had to resort to lathicharge as passengers protested at the station demanding that the woman be handed over to them. (Representative Image/File)

Passengers of a local train in West Bengal’s North 24 Parganas district attacked a woman on Wednesday after finding her carrying a seven-month-old baby in a bag. Police said they were questioning him.

According to sources, just before the Sealdah-bound train from Duttapukur reached Birati station, passengers heard the cries of a baby which they soon discovered were coming from a bag carried by the woman . As her co-passengers confronted her, the woman remained silent and they began beating her, alleging that she had stolen the baby.

Later, other passengers rescued the woman and handed her over to the government railway police in Dumdum. Police had to resort to lathicharge as passengers protested at the station demanding that the woman be handed over to them.

In the past week, four incidents were reported from North 24 Parganas in which people were beaten up over allegations of child theft. One of the incidents took place in Srikrishnapur on June 12, another was reported from Barasat.

First published online on: 26-06-2024 at 1:50 p.m. IST