wo men were beaten to death by a mob in Rangpur’s Taraganj upazila on Saturday night over allegations of stealing a van.

The incident took place around 9:00 PM in the Burirhat Bottola area of Sayar union. The deceased were identified as Rupalal Das, 40, from Ghonirampur village in Taraganj, and his relative Pradeep Das, 35, from Baluabhata village in Mithapukur upazila.

Family members said that Rupalal’s daughter’s wedding arrangements were underway, with the marriage date scheduled to be fixed the next day. As part of the preparations, Pradeep set out from Mithapukur for Rupalal’s home in Taraganj on his van. Unfamiliar with the route, he reached Kazirhat and called Rupalal for guidance. Rupalal joined him, and the two continued toward Ghonirampur together.

While passing through Bottola on the Taraganj–Kazirhat road, some locals stopped them, suspecting they had stolen the van. A crowd gathered, and suspicion grew after four small plastic bottles were found in a sack on the van. Upon smelling the liquid inside, two locals claimed they felt unwell, which fueled further accusations.

The mob began assaulting Rupalal and Pradeep until they lost consciousness. The two were later abandoned at the Burirhat High School playground. Police recovered them around 11:00 PM and took them to Taraganj Upazila Health Complex, where Rupalal was pronounced dead. Pradeep was transferred to Rangpur Medical College Hospital, where he died early Sunday morning.

Taraganj Police Station Officer-in-Charge M.A. Faruq confirmed the incident and said a case is being prepared.