KOLKATA: The mysterious death of a 25-year-old youth, who was found lying unconscious on the pavement in Kalighat on Sunday morning, has led cops to launch a detailed investigation amidst claims by certain residents that the victim was assaulted in the wee hours after being accused of stealing a mobile. The victim has been identified as Shankar Mondal, a resident of the Masjidpara slum.Though Mondal’s initial medical report stated the body did not bear any evidence of external injury and no formal complaint was lodged by his family, police said they would wait for the final postmortem report before ruling out the possibility of an unnatural death. “With several near-lynching incidents being reported in the city barely a month ago, and the death of a man at Dum Dum Basakpara last week, we want to be certain he was not lynched,” said a senior investigating officer.Police said they received a call around 10am on Sunday, informing them that a man was lying motionless beside a tree on the pavement near a beauty salon and showroom at the SP Mukherjee Road-Gurudas Haldar Road crossing. On arrival, cops identified him as Mondal, a local drug addict who sometimes carried out petty theft to buy contraband. The victim was taken to SSKM Hospital, where he was declared dead, said police adding, his brother, Laksman, was beside him.With the preliminary probe showing no injury mark, police had initially assumed Mondal might have died due to drug overdose. But the probe took a significant turn, when team visited the spot and was informed by a couple of residents that they had heard a commotion between 3am and 3.30am on Sunday. A security guard claimed he saw a man being assaulted. Sources pointed out that the names of a local hawkers’ leader and his aides—all of them associated with the Kalighat hawker’s market—were doing the rounds for allegedly assaulting Mondal. The victim’s hands were allegedly tied behind his back, but police neither confirmed it nor denied it. The guard posted at the showroom confirmed to TOI Mondal was tied to a tree. “Several women surrounded him, but no one was assaulting him,” he claimed.Mondal’s family said they would lodge a complaint soon. “We have been told he was tied to a tree. He was completely naked and was not even offered water when he begged for it. At least six men, most of them hawkers and a few women, attacked him,” claimed Mangala Mondal, the victim’s mother, sitting at their home behind Kalighat Park.The police have started collecting grabs of CCTV cameras installed in the area and speaking to locals as possible even as they requested SSKM doctors for a speedy post-mortem. “No external injury mark was seen on the body. The post-mortem report will establish the cause of the death. If there is any allegation of unnatural death or the autopsy report points to something on those lines, we will probe all angles,” said DC (south) Meeraj Khalid, adding the victim’s family was yet to lodge a complaint.Multiple incidents of lynching and assault have been reported from across the city and suburbs — all triggered by rumours of the victims being child-lifters or thieves— over the past six weeks. Lalbazar said a drive against mob justice was on in full swing.(With inputs from Amit Moulick)

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