At least two persons were lynched by mob in two separate incidents in Assam in last 24 hours, sparking protests in the streets on Tuesday.
While one Bijoy Bhumij was killed by an irate mob on suspicion that he along with two other stole a goat at Samaguri in Central Assam’s Nagaon district on Monday evening, another person, identified as Joga Baruah was killed by another group of people for allegedly stealing a pair of shoe from a temple in Assam’s lakhimpur district.
Social organisations and locals took to the streets on Tuesday at Samaguri and Bihpuria in lakhimpur district in protest against the killing of the two persons on the basis of mere allegation and demanded a high-level probe into the incidents. The protesting locals also slammed the attitude of the Assam police who became mute spectators in both the cases.
“Some of the locals in Samaguri area suspected three persons including Bijoy Bhumij to have stolen a goat. The locals said that they have caught the three red
handed while they were preparing to eat the stolen goat after cooking it,” said Nagaon SP, YT Gatso.
“The mob thrashed them badly and handed over the three to the police. After medical examination, the police brought them to the police station but one of them died due to injuries he sustained during the mob thrashing,” he said.
In a similar incident, another mob in Assam lakhimpur district thrashed one Joga Baruah for allegedly stealing a pair of shoe from a temple on Monday. “The mob beat him badly before handing him over to the Simaluguri police station,” said lakhimpur SP, Brajenjit Singha.
“The police put him in the lockup for the night. However, Baruah was found unconscious on Tuesday morning and was taken to the hospital where the doctors declared him brought dead,” the SP said.