A seven-year-old girl on Monday lynched by a shopkeeper and others for allegedly stealing a watermelon from his shop at Harishchandrapur in Malda district, police said here.
The incident occurred at Tulshihatta village under Harishchandrapur police station after the shopkeeper 'found' the girl stealing the watermelon.
As he started beating up the girl, he was joined by a group of men and the girl died on the spot, they said.
Local people then caught two of the accused, including the shopkeeper, beat them up and handed them over to the police.
Both of them were admitted to hospital, they said.