Main accused in Assam lynching arrested

Police in Assam on Wednesday arrested the main accused in connection with the lynching of two Guwahati-based youths in Karbi Anglong district who were mistaken to be child abductors.

Assam Director General of Police Kuladhar Saikia said Alphajoz Timung was arrested in a village near the area of Panjuri Kachari where Nilotpal Das and Abhijeet Nath were killed by a mob on the night of June 8.

"We have arrested Alphajoz. He had been hiding there since the night of the murders," Saikia said.

According to police, Das and Nath had gone to enjoy the natural beauty of Kangthilangso waterfall. However, they had an altercation with Alphajoz there for some reason.

After that, when Das and Nath were returning, Alphajoz instigated the mob over phone by saying that the two youths were child abductors and that they had abducted a minor boy in the black SUV, Saikia told the media.

"Timung phoned and texted some people in Panjuri village to intercept the black SUV and thrash the persons inside. The mob did that and lynched them," said Saikia.

The police have arrested 28 persons for their involvement in the killings while 36 others were detained for spreading hate messages and circulating videos of the incident on social media.

--IANS

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