Kaushik Purakayastha, a student, had gone to visit some relatives at Diamond Harbour, near Kolkata.
A 23-year-old man died after being beaten up by villagers at Diamond Harbour, 40 km from Kolkata today. The locals had accused him of stealing a buffalo.
Kaushik Purakayastha -- a student of Industrial Training Institute - had gone to visit some relatives at Diamond Harbour's Harindanga village yesterday.
But the villagers, who were agitated about the missing buffalo, zeroed in on the stranger and said he was the thief, the police said. When the young man's mother and aunt heard of the incident, they rushed to rescue him. But the villagers would not let him go, though he was badly injured and in need of urgent medical attention.
The locals in Diamond Harbour, near Kolkata, had accused Kaushik Purakayastha of stealing a buffalo.
His family was forced to promise that they would pay Rs 60,000 - the price of the buffalo, the police said.
Mr Purakayastha was rushed to the Diamond Harbour district hospital. Later in the night, he was sent to Kolkata's top medical facility SSKM Hospital, where he died there this morning.
Ten people have been named in the case filed by the police and one person has been arrested. Some reports suggested that a local leader of the ruling Trinamool Congress is among those named in the FIR.