In West Bengal, a story about how in south 24 Parganas district friends they trusted with their lives suddenly decided to take their lives. The provocation borne out of a misunderstanding and rumour mongering soon assumed the shape of a murderous witch hunt against a community, which finds itself in a minority in the area. For 2 days murderous mobs rampaged through the streets smoking out members of the community. The mobs desecrated a temple, razed homes and snatched food and livestock. The hapless community found themselves isolated and terrorised. For 48 hours the state machinery led by the police did nothing. This is a story of rutheless ethnic profiling and cleansing.