Outbursts of collective cruelty still remains unabated in the state with yet another incident of thrashing three members, including mother of maid’s family, reported from Domjur in Howrah.

The place is hardly 15 km away from the state secretariat Nabanna.

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The incident occurred in north Kalora in Domjur police station area when a businessman along with other relatives allegedly beat up his maid’s mother, father and brother and locked them inside his factory on suspicion of theft charges.

About 25 days ago, the maid who used to work in the businessman’s family, fled the area after marrying her boyfriend and allegedly a theft of around Rs 20 lakh from his house.

According to a complaint lodged with the police station against the businessman by the victims, he along with three other members of his family, locked them inside his factory, beat them up severely and cut their hair. A video of the entire incident was recorded by someone and few days later it became viral in the social media though The Statesman has not verified it.

The victims also alleged that they were threatened by the owner and his associates to leave Domjur area, otherwise they would be killed. They fled and took shelter in their distant relative’s house at Jagdishpur, around 10 km away from Domjur.

They were virtually starving there at their relative’s house for the last few days. Acting on a tip-off on the incident, policemen of Jagdishpur outpost rushed to the house and rescued them on Wednesday.

Praveen Tripathi, commissioner of Howrah Police commissionerate, said today three persons, Abu Hasan Laskar, Isha Laskar and Shyam Laskar, who were named in the FIR lodged by the victims, have been arrested and an inquiry is still on in the case.

Cases of mob lynching and trashing are on the rise in the state with regular reports of such incidents in several districts North 24-Parganas, South 24-Parganas, Hooghly, Bardhaman and West Midnapore in recent past.

Within one fortnight in June four people were killed and 13 severely injured in different incidents of mob lynching and thrashing in the state, each time on the basis of rumour or suspicion that these individuals were either thieves, mobile stealers or child lifters.