An alleged rapist was dragged out of the high-security central jail in Nagaland's Dimapur town by an irate mob, paraded naked and then thrashed to death
Kohima: A man, accused of raping a girl, was beaten to death on Thursday after being pulled out of a jail by a mob at Dimapur in Nagaland. A mass protest rally against the rape was held at Dimapur on Thursday morning after which students and angry people stormed the district jail and managed to drag out the accused.
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Syed Farid Khan, a 35-year-old second hand car dealer, had allegedly raped a 20-year-old Naga woman on February 23 and 24 at different locations. Police arrested Khan on February 25 and later a lower court sent him to judicial custody. The district administration had imposed curfew in the town on Wednesday after a group of people took out a protest rally against the rape.
However, that failed to deter the people from marching to the central jail. Police fired in the air to deter the mob, but the mob tore down the gate, dragged the accused to the tower and beat him up severely, that ultimately led to his death.
"A mob of around 4,000 people stormed the central jail after breaking the two gates and took the accused out of jail and paraded him naked to the city tower in the heart of Dimapur town, before we could rescue him," district police chief Meren Jamir said.
Police, who were outnumbered by the ever-swelling mob, again fired blanks to disperse the crowd and also to retrieve the body. This infuriated the mob and they pelted stones and burnt down the vehicles. At least 10 vehicles were also set ablaze by the unruly mob forcing the authorities to clamp curfew in Dimapur district.
The police resorted to blank firing and fired tear gas shells but failed to control the situation, officials said. The accused was dragged naked to the main town and he died of the injuries of beatings by the public, a senior official said. "The body was retrieved from the mob after police fired in the air to disperse them," Jamir said.
"We have clamped curfew in Dimapur district to contain the law and order situation following the unfortunate incident," district magistrate Wezope Kenye said. He said the district authorities had made all efforts to prevent the mob from storming the central jail.
"We resorted to firing blanks and tear gas shells to disperse the mob but they managed to pull out Khan from the jail," Kenye said. "The situation is tense and we are making all efforts to restore normalcy in the district," he added.
The incident has created panic among the people, particularly among the trader community, as the protesters demanded the administration to cancel trade licenses of all non-local businessmen in the town. An emergency cabinet meeting was held at 7 pm at the residential office of chief minister to take stock of the law and other situation in Dimapur.
The cabinet condemned the violent incident whereby the mob took the law into their hands, leading to the death of the accused, said a release issued by CMO Media Cell this evening. The cabinet also decided to institute a high-level committee to inquire into the incident and find out the circumstances leading to it.
The committee would also inquire into the lapses or shortcomings on the part of any public servant in connection with the incident and the person or group of persons responsible for the violence leading to the death of the accused in the hands of the mob. The chief minister, being in New Delhi, the cabinet meeting was chaired by Minister for Social Security & Welfare and Parliamentary Affairs, Kiyanilie Peseyie, the CMO Media Cell added.
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