Nagaland Police chief surprised at media reports ruling out rape

The Nagaland Police chief on Wednesday expressed surprise over a section of the media reporting that the union home ministry had ruled out the rape of the woman by the man who was later lynched in Dimapur.

"The preliminary investigation, which was based on prima facie evidence, indicated it to be a case of rape. We have sent some samples for forensic tests and we are waiting for the forensic report," said Director General of Police L.L. Doungel.

"I am surprised to see a section of the media ruling out rape while quoting a home ministry report over the incident on March 5," he said.

Nagaland's commercial hub of Dimapur is limping back to normal even as section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure that bans the assembly of four or more people continues to be in force in the town.

On March 5, a mob broke into the central jail in Dimapur, dragged out rape accused Syed Farid Khan, paraded him naked, and killed him. They later strung his body on the railing of the Clock Tower in the town.

A local woman alleged that Khan, who hails from Karimganj district of Assam, had raped her multiple times on February 23. She filed a police complaint against Khan, and he was arrested and subsequently sent to judicial custody.

Khan's family members, however, refuted the rape allegation and said he was framed.

The family members are also demanding a CBI inquiry into the whole incident.

The Nagaland government has suspended three top officials -- the deputy commissioner, the police superintendent, and the jail superintendent -- for their failure to tackle the situation that led to the killing and ordered a judicial probe into the incident.

On Tuesday, a divisional bench of the Gauhati High Court had asked the Nagaland government to ensure the security of all jail inmates in Nagaland.