Saturday, August 30, 2008

Vigilante mob beats bicycle thief

A youth who tried to steal a bicycle was severely beaten up by a mob on Friday. The policemen who had rescued the youth left him and fled after being targeted by the mob.

The incident occurred around 3 pm at Bally in Howrah. Aparesh Mukherjee, who owns a medicine shop at Bally market, had kept his bicycle near the gate of the shop. The 24-year-old youth, who was loitering around, tried to steal it. Seeing him do so, locals started thrashing him mercilessly.

The policemen rushed to the spot and rescued the youth, who had became unconscious by then. The policemen also arrested two persons from the mob.

However, soon the other locals blocked the policemen’s way and demanded that the two be released. With the situation almost out of control, the policemen fled the spot, leaving the youth at the mercy of the mob.

The youth lay unconscious on the road for nearly an hour after which some other locals took him to Jaiswal Hospital. He was not in a condition to speak and is yet to be identified.
Story from the Times of India. Via Doc Logan.

7 comments:

SiouxGeonz said...

Geez, the penalty for thievery shouldn't be bludgeoning.

Noah said...

That's definitely over-the-line. And what the heck? 24 years old is not a youth, period.

cafiend said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
cafiend said...

So what IS an appropriate penalty for witnessed, blatant theft? Bike theft is a major obstacle to bike use everywhere. Bludgeoning certainly conveys a sense of general social disapproval and outrage. What's a really good way to discourage thieves from taking it up? Theft implies that social conventions of honesty don't matter. What other social conventions die with that one?

bikesgonewild said...

...the line "they shoot horse thieves don't they ???" from the days of the old west, comes from the reasoning, that to steal a man's horse was to take away a fundamental tool of survival & transportation...

...times may have changed but if you want a good emotional 'take' on it, watch vitorio di sica's "ladri di biciclette" (the bicycle thief)...the film creates such a beautiful sense of desperation, that if you don't find it viscerally gripping, you might wanna question your dedication to the bike...

cafiend said...

The bummer in The Bicycle Thief is that he's ultimately tempted to steal someone else's, as I recall.

bikesgonewild said...

...you are quite right & as i said, "a beautiful sense of desperation" still applies...

...it wasn't a wise choice but i came away w/ the feeling that ultimately he himself learned a hard but valuable lesson...