23 cases of mob violence in Assam this year: Minister

Cases of mob violence and lynching have registered a "sharp rise" in Assam with 23 such incidents so far this year compared to only two such cases in 2017, state Parliamentary Affairs minister Chandra Mohan Patowary told the Assembly Monday.

In a written reply to a query by Congress MLA Nandita Das, Patowary said 23 cases of mob violence and lynching have been registered between January and September this year, while two such cases were reported in 2017 and six in 2016.

Replying on behalf of Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal, who also holds the Home portfolio, Patowary said that eight persons (five men and three women) were killed in the mob violence cases since January 2018, while two men had died in 2017 and six others in 2016.

As many as 162 arrests have been made in these cases this year, although no arrests were made in 2017 but 32 persons were arrested in such cases in 2016, the minister said.

However, no one has been convicted in these cases since 2016, he added.