Nagaland: Mob break into prison, drag out and lynch rape-accused to death

In what can be described as an extreme outrage against rape, a mob in Nagaland on Thursday afternoon barged into the Central Jail in Dimapur, dragged out a person accused of committing a rape, tied him by the waist and pulled him for about seven kms, during which he died of being lynched on the way. Curfew was imposed late evening following incidents of arson in Dimapur town.

Confirming this Nagaland DGP LL Doungel said the victim was a rape-accused whom the mob forcibly dragged out after overpowering the jail security. “The situation is grim,” DGP Doungel told The Indian Express over the telephone as he was rushing from Kohima to Dimapur in the evening. The victim has been identified as Syed Farid Khan (35), a petty trader dealing with scraps and used motor cars. Some arrests were also made, the DGP informed. The incident occurred between 3 to 4 pm.

With the rape-accused also alleged to be a Bangladeshi, the incident also triggered anger against alleged Bangladeshi infiltrators, with mob attacking houses and shops in certain localities where such people live or run petty businesses. The state is already facing agitations for the past two weeks demanding detection and ouster of suspected Bangladeshi infiltrators.

Reports said the Naga Students’ Federation (NSF) and some other groups had called a rally to protest an incident of rape committed on February 24 defying Section 144 of the CrPC clamped on Dimapur since last evening, an irked mob rushed to the Central Jail, broke open the gates by overpowering the security personnel on duty, brought out the accused, stripped him naked, tied him by the waist and began dragging him to the City Clock Tower area. People began beating and kicking him, also pelting stones at him, leading to his death as he was being dragged along.

The rape was allegedly committed on a student from a local women’s college on February 24, the police had arrested Syed Farid Khan a day later. The NSF and other groups had earlier demanded that no bail should be granted to the rape-accused. The police later came in large numbers and removed the body of the man.

Police meanwhile first resort to lathi-charge and then opening fire, during which several persons were injured. Several police personnel were also hurt in stone-pelting by the mob. Even as IRB personnel were rushed in, angry mob also set one IRB bus on fire apart from damaging several other vehicles.

With the people said that the alleged rapist was a suspected Bangladeshi infiltrator – in Nagaland everybody refers to suspected Bangladeshis as IBI, meaning Illegal Bangladesi Infiltrators – the mob also headed for the Purana Bazar area where the rape-accused had his shop, and set on fire several shops and houses, unofficial reports said.

“The situation is grim. The rape-accused is said to be an IBI,” Nagaland DGP Doungel said over the telephone, refusing to give more details. Dimapur SP Meren Jamir was not available for more details.

Chief Minister TR Zeliang, who is in New Delhi, held a telephonic discussion with senior ministers and officers following which a government statement appealed to the people for restraint. The visuals of the ugly scene was uploaded in social media, the government of Nagaland on Thursday night requested newspaper editors and media-persons in the state to be sensitive to the possible repercussions to the acts at Dimapur.

The government also requested the media to specially avoid inflammatory or provocative pictures of the ugly incident in their reports/publications. “Many ugly objectionable pictures are already on social media, but the traditional media which is available more widely has been requested to be more sensitive and apply self censorship to help mitigate the possible ramifications,” the appeal issued through e-mail said.

Source:: Indian Express