Beldanga (Murshidabad), Oct. 15: A scrap dealer and his son allegedly tied a youth to a post and battered him to death with a 20kg weight because they suspected he had stolen a 5kg weight from their godown.

Minarul Haque’s father said over 50 people were watching Kaosar Sheikh and his son Rabiul hitting the 22-year-old with the iron weight but none came to his rescue.

The father-son duo suspected Minarul, a labourer, had stolen the weight from their godown in Beldanga, Murshidabad, a fortnight ago but it is not clear why the suspicion fell on him.

Yesterday, the two saw Minarul in a tea stall. They called him and took him to the godown, Minarul’s father Anarul said. “They tied him to a bamboo post, brought a 20-kg iron weight and battered him.”

Some villagers told Anarul that his son was being thrashed and he rushed to Kaosar’s godown around noon. “There were at least 50 people watching my son getting beaten up. But no one helped,” he sobbed.

“Kaosar told me that my son had stolen a 5kg weight from his godown 15 days ago. When I pleaded with him to release my son, he told me he would let him go only at 1.30pm.”

Anarul rushed to the nearby market and requested two policemen there to help. “But the policemen did not pay heed. When I returned, my son was not around. When I asked Kaosar about Minarul, he said he had left. My son’s body was found in a field behind the godown today,” said Anarul.

“We have started a murder case against the father and son and sealed the godown. The accused are absconding,” said the OC of Beldanga police station, Sunayan Basu.