Six arrested in killing of Assam Regiment jawan in Mizoram road rage
Six people have been arrested and two minors detained in connection with the killing of a 29-year-old Assam Regiment jawan near Bualpui village in Mizoram's Kolasib district, police said on Wednesday, September 23.
The victim, Zakaria Lalhriattluanga, who was serving in the Assam Regiment and posted in Jammu and Kashmir, was returning home on leave to his native New Builum village. He had arrived at Lengpui airport near Aizawl on September 20 and was travelling toward his village in a truck driven by his friend John Laltanpuia, who had gone to receive him at the airport.
The incident occurred that evening near Bualpui along National Highway-306, close to the Coffee Board plantation, after two trucks had difficulty crossing each other on a badly damaged stretch of road. An argument broke out between the drivers, following which a group of youths allegedly became involved and assaulted Laltanpuia. Lalhriattluanga died at the spot after intervening, while Laltanpuia sustained minor injuries.
Kolasib Superintendent of Police Lalrinpuia Varte said five of the six adult accused were remanded to judicial custody, while two teenagers were handed over to the Juvenile Justice Board. The six adults, all residents of the Hmar Veng locality in Kawnpui town, were identified as Zoremthangi, 38; Emmanuel Lalchhanhima, 27; Lalhundika, 29; Lalnunfima, 26; David Remruatpuia, 18; and Malsawmtluanga, 24. They were booked at Kawnpui Police Station under Sections 103(1), 115 and 3(6) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, along with Section 6(2) of the Mizoram Liquor Prohibition Act, 2019.
Residents of New Builum staged a demonstration outside Kolasib district jail on Tuesday demanding justice, prompting police to publicly present the accused before the assembled crowd, according to leaders of the New Builum branch of the Young Mizo Association (YMA). Protesters called for the accused to be punished in accordance with the law, including capital punishment.
Lalhriattluanga's mother, Lalthazovi, 60, said her son had joined the Assam Regiment in 2017 and was the second-youngest of five siblings, having taken on responsibility for supporting his elderly parents. His father, a septuagenarian former pastor, and his mother are no longer able to earn a livelihood, while his younger brother works as a daily wage labourer to support the family.
