Mob lynches brother of accused in Assam

We were given an ultimatum of 24 hours to arrest Jaggu (accused). The police was present... But it was close to the house of the accused. The brother was assaulted on the way to the house DIPENDRA CHETRI, Officer-in-charge

GUWAHATI: A day after a couple was allegedly hacked to death, the brother of the suspected killer was lynched on Friday by an angry mob in a tea estate in Assam , the police said.

According to Dipendra Chetri, the officer-in-charge of Moran Police station in Dibrugarh district of Upper Assam, Bhola Praja and Ramoni were waylaid on Thursday evening by a man he identified as Jaggu Praja.

“He hacked them with a machete. Both Bhola and his wife bled to death on the spot. When the police arrived their bodies were still lying on the spot,” Chetri said.

The couple worked as permanent workers on the tea estate. The accused man, too, worked at the estate according to the police. “On Thursday morning, the couple went to Jaggu’s house and had an altercation,” Chetri said. Jaggu’s sister is married to Bhola’s son. The troubled marriage had led to friction between the two families, according to Chetri.

Jaggu ran away after the killing and was arrested on Friday afternoon. After the twin murders, locals went to Jaggu’s house on Thursday evening.

“They assaulted his father, vandalised the house, even as rest of the family including his brother fled,” Chetri said.

At about 8 am on Friday morning, Jaggu’s brother Puran Praja was waylaid by a mob when he was returning to his house on the tea estate, police said.

“The mob comprising of locals assaulted him. He died of injuries. We are identifying those who were part of the mob. They will be arrested,” Chetri said. The police claimed that they were under pressure from the locals o arrest Jaggu which may have led to a lapse in security on the tea estate that caused the brother’s lynching.

“We were given an ultimatum of 24 hours to arrest Jaggu. The police was present on the tea estate. But it was close to the house of the accused. The brother was assaulted on the way to the house,” Chetri claimed.