Five people have been arrested and two boys held in West Bengal's South 24 Parganas district for allegedly beating a Kerala man to death on June 9 after he lost his way and wandered into Sankijahan village, police said on Monday.
A district justice board sent the two to a home for juvenile delinquents. A local court remanded three adult accused in judicial and two in police custody.
Police cited their investigation and said Sukdeb alias Sandip was a guest of Hiralal Das, a migrant worker in Kerala. They added that he accompanied Das when he returned home in June.
"The background of the deceased is not very clear. The probe indicates that he could speak only a few Hindi words, and Das knew a few Malayali words. Das claims that they became friends during his visits to Kerala, and he invited him home," a police officer said.
He added that Das took the Kerala man to the local market on June 9, but the two got separated in the crowded area. "The Kerala man lost his way and reached Sankijahan, where local people found his movement suspicious. When he could not answer their questions, they tied him up and assaulted him on the suspicion that he was a criminal. Das has been arrested because he cannot escape responsibility," the officer said.
