A kangaroo court in West Bengal allegedly prevented a family from lodging a police complaint after a woman's mysterious death at her in-laws' place in South 24 Parganas district, a family member said on Friday.
Mita Mondal, a resident of Canning in South 24 Parganas district, died at her in-laws' house on last Sunday. The victim's in-laws claimed that she had consumed poison.
However, Mita's family members claimed that she did not commit suicide but was murdered.
"We believe she was beaten up and later poisoned by her husband and in-laws," Mita's brother said on Friday.
"Mita's in-laws neither informed us about her death nor could they be contacted for confirmation after we got the news from the neighbours," he complained.
According to Mita's family, a kangaroo court set up after her death allegedly forced them to sign a letter on Thursday saying that she committed suicide.
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"We were asked to sign the letter by the members of the kangaroo court in the presence of a local Trinamool leader. The letter was submitted to Canning police station by the members," Mita's brother said.
The Trinamool leader Gautam Mondal, however, denied the allegations.
"I was not part of any kangaroo court. I merely signed as a witness in the presence of the police inspector," Gautam said.
The Canning police station refused to comment on the issue.
--IANS
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