Assam: Mob Lynches 2 Assamese Artist in Karbianglong

Guwahati

An angry mob lynched two youths from Guwahati to death in a remote area in the Karbi Anglong district of Assam on suspicion of being child kidnappers.

The  incident occurred on Friday night after a rumour spread on social media about a group of ‘sopadhara’ (child kidnapper in Assamese) being active in nearby areas.

The two young men were identified as Nilotpal Das, an audio engineer into experimental music and Abjijeet Nath, a digital artist had gone to the hills on Friday. The two, in their late 20s, from affluent families in Guwahati, were working in Mumbai and Goa.

According to a purported video of the attack  circulating on social media, Das is heard pleading with the attackers. “Do not kill me…please do not beat me,” he says. “I am an Assamese. Believe me, I am speaking the truth. My father’s name is Gopal Chandra Das and mother’s name is Radhika Das…please let me go.” The mob did not heed his pleas and continued to beat him with bamboo sticks, the Scroll report said.

The police have launched a massive search operation to nab the culprits on the basis of the video.

UPDATE-

as per the latest information Karbi Anglong police arrested  four people in this case. “A police team reached the spot after receiving information of the assault by 200-250 people. One of the victims had died on the spot, while the other died on way to the hospital,” he said, attributing the duo’s killing to “a combination of bad circumstances.”

According to IANS, Assam chief minister Sarbanada Sonowal, who has ordered a high-level probe into the lynching incident, said “It is condemnable that people are being killed after being influenced by rumours and superstition.”