Jalpaiguri Jane Doe was a transgender woman who was beaten to death by a lynch mob in the Nagrakata neighborhood of Jalpaiguri, India, after being accused of being a child abductor. Her brutal death had been recorded by several participants and bystanders before being posted online. According to authorities, there were no reports of child abductions in or around the area of Nagrakata at the time of her death.
Case
In late July of 2019, the decedent was traveling from town to town to beg for money when she arrived in Nagrakata on her way to Sukhani, a nearby village. It is reported that she had been aware there were rumors of child abductions in the area, though she did not expect the neighborhood's vigilante group to begin trailing her. Reportedly, the vigilante mob eventually cornered her and questioned her, though the violence against her did not begin until a member of the crowd shouted that she was the child abductor. The mob began beating her and she managed to escape to the nearby railroad tracks, but she was closely followed by the vigilantes.
When they cornered her at the railroad tracks, the mob began throwing stones at her and attempting to beat her with them. Children of the neighborhood were reported to have been seen taking part in throwing stones and recording the woman's beating as well, and the decedent was left to lie on the ground after being heavily mutilated. Reportedly, no one helped the decedent and she did not receive medical aid until police were alerted to a report about mob violence occurring in Nagrakata. The woman was immediately transported to a nearby hospital upon her discovery, though was pronounced dead on the way to the hospital. An anonymous resident of the area contacted the police shortly afterward to report having seen her begging for money previously, and aided police in describing the brutality of what occurred to her. The authorities then quickly found the footage of her beating online after it had gone viral in India.
According to police, 6 suspects have since been detained following a string of mob lynchings in the area, and that there were no reported child abductions in the area at the time of her death. Allegedly, the vigilante group had been formed from a popular rumor in the neighborhood. The investigation into the decedent's lynching as well as the deaths of several other people by mob violence is currently still underway.
Characteristics
- Curly dark hair
Clothing
- A bright yellow dress.
- Green sash.
Sources
- Trans Day of Remembrance
- LGBTQ Nation
- GSN POSTMORTEM WARNING
- The Quint