Assam lynching: 24 arrests, search operation continues

Press Trust of India  |  Guwahati 

Another person has been arrested in connection with the of two men on suspicion of being child lifters in Assam, taking the number of people arrested in the case so far to 24, police said.

of Police (Law and Order) Mukesh Agarwal was monitoring the investigations.

Besides the 24, five others were arrested from Diphu town today for misuse of in connection with the incident.

"They have been found to be involved either in recording the incident on or circulating the video clip on with statements, comments to incite hatred between different communities," the said.

The crackdown on the misuse of was launched by the police as investigations have brought to light that messages posted on social media on child lifters having entered the state from outside, may have led to the of the two men.

The police have issued an advisory asking people to help prevent spread of rumours on social media.

In a shocking incident on Friday, two friends -- Nilotpal Das (29) and Abhijeet Nath (30) -- had gone to the in and while returning, their vehicle was stopped at Panjuri by a group of irate villagers, who pulled them out and killed them by beating them up for hours on the suspicion that they were child-lifters.

Parents of Nilotpal -- and -- have appealed to the people not to give credence to rumours. They also urged the people not to politicise the issue.

"We are grateful to all for extending their support to us in this hour of grief but we appeal to all to maintain peace and calm", they said in a statement issued here.

They have also appealed to the government to ensure that no more lives were lost due to superstitious beliefs and to create awareness in each village of the state by involving all parties, organisations, students' unions and others.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

First Published: Tue, June 12 2018. 13:40 IST