Mob lynches two Assamese; 16 held

Two men, returning from a picnic, were murdered by villagers, who suspected them to be child-lifters

As many as 16 people have been arrested in connection with the lynching of two men in Karbi Anglong district of Assam, while a senior police officer has been given charge to keep a vigil on rumours in social media, the Director General of Police said on Sunday.

Among those arrested, included the man who allegedly fanned the rumour on social media that child lifters have entered Assam, DGP Kuladhar Saikia told the media. While Additional DGP Mukesh Agarwal is monitoring the investigation, ADGP Harmeet Singh has been given the charge of keeping a strict vigil on rumours on social media, Saikia said. He appealed to the people not to get swayed by rumours on social media and immediately inform the police if they came across any such post.

The police have released some telephone numbers through which the people can contact them. They can also inform the nearest police station, the superintendent of police or the police headquarter in Guwahati, the DGP said.

The cyberspace is very wide requiring more people to monitor it and Chief Secretary T Y Das has given the nod to bring in more people to monitor social media, the DGP said.

Asked whether forces from outside the state were spreading rumours in the run up to the publication of the second draft of the National Register of Citizens slated on June 30, the DGP said it was not possible to say anything at this stage, but the investigation covered all angles. He said security in vulnerable areas of the state has been intensified and special patrolling was being conducted, particularly in the weekly Sunday markets, to prevent any untoward incident.

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