Assam: Mob Lynches Man, Injures 3 on Suspicion of Cattle Lifting
A man was lynched and three others critically injured by a mob in Biswanath chariali of Assam on suspicions of being cattle lifters, on Thursday
Guwahati
One person was killed and three others seriously injured in an mob attack over suspicions that they were cow thieves in Biswanath district of upper Assam, police said on Thursday.
According to the police, the incident took place at Diplunga tea estate, nearly 230km from Guwahati early on Wednesday.
As per information, “Four persons from Sootea were travelling in a tempo van when they were attacked by a mob at 4:00am. Locals allege the victims had stolen cows,” said a police official from Sootea police station on the condition of anonymity.
The police said two stolen cows were recovered from the van. While the driver of the vehicle escaped from the scene, a mob of nearly 20 people attacked the four men with sticks.
A video of the incident captured on a mobile phone, which is doing the rounds on social media, shows the victims sitting on the ground and pleading to be spared with folded hands while others rained blows on them.
“We were on our way to buy pigs from Diplunga tea estate early on Wednesday morning when a mob armed with sticks, iron rods etc. stopped us and started attacking, accusing us of being cow thieves,” one of the injured victims told local television channels.
The police, however, maintain that the victims had stolen cows and were transporting them.
“A case of cow theft has been registered. We have no information about the victims going to buy pigs. Since they are injured we are yet to record their statements,” said the official.
The injured victims were taken to a private nursing home in Biswanath Chariali town where one of them, Deben Rajbongshi, died. The other three, Phoolchand Sahu, Bijoy Nayak and Pujen Rajbongshi, who sustained injuries on their heads, legs and arms, are undergoing treatment.
All the victims belong to the ‘adivasi’ community who are mainly employed in the tea gardens of the area.
Wednesday’s incident comes two months after two men from Guwahati were lynched by a mob in Karbi Anglong district on suspicion of being child lifters.
In April last year, two people were killed by an angry mob following an allegation of cow theft in Nagaon district of central Assam. It was the first reported case of deaths in a mob attack on ‘cow thieves’.
