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New Delhi: A young man, identified as a local student leader, was killed allegedly in a mob attack in Assam’s Jorhat town on November 29 while two others travelling with him in a vehicle were severely injured in the incident.
As per state police, as many as 13 persons have been arrested for the crime.
Local news reports said the 23-year-old deceased, identified as Animesh Bhuyan is the education secretary of the Brahmaputra Anchalik Committee of All Assam Students Union or AASU’s Golaghat district chapter.
Bhuyan was travelling with two others, AASU activist Pranay Dutta and Mridusmanta Baruah, a reporter with the Assamese news channel Pratidin Time. Their vehicle passed through a truck stand in Nirmal Chariali area of the town at around 2 pm.
On sighting an elderly man falling down from a two-wheeler, they stopped their vehicle to help him. However, the person, identified as Mohan Das, who was allegedly in an intoxicated state, soon claimed that he fell down from the two-wheeler because he was hit by the vehicle the three were on. Das’s son soon entered into a heated argument with the trio, leading to a physical fight.
Jorhat Superintendent of Police Ankit Jain told PTI, “More people joined and the incident soon escalated into a full blown physical attack.” According to some news reports, there were at least 50 people involved in the mob attack that continued for about 15 minutes.
According to a report by India Today, a video circulating on social media had shown that the mob attacking the trio even after local police had arrived on the scene.
Though the police took the three injured persons to Jorhat Medical College and Hospital, Bhuyan was declared dead on arrival. The other two were admitted for treatment. A report in Guwahati Plus stated that a local AASU leader told reporters that on receiving a call for help from the reporter while they were under attack by the mob, AASU activists reached the spot “within a few minutes and even called the police”.
“While the mob beat them over an accident, the three claimed that they did not cause the accident and were trying to help a senior person who had fallen by himself,” said the student activist. The injured reporter was quoted in Guwahati Plus, stating, “The mob continued to beat Animesh [Bhuyan] even when we got on the police vehicle and Animesh was lying on my lap.”
Bhuyan’s death led the student’s body to demand the arrest of all the culprits within 24 hours. Condemning the incident on November 29, former AASU general secretary and now president of a regional party, Lurinjyoti Gogoi, demanded immediate arrest of all the culprits and asked the state police to take necessary steps to ensure that such incidents do not occur.
In 2018, two youths had lost their lives in a mob attack in Karbi Anglong district of the state.
Special DGP (law and order) G.P. Singh, in a tweet on November 29 night, said, “Till now ten persons have been arrested by Jorhat Police” in the case. He said, “The investigation shall be monitored at the highest level…”
Latest reports quoting police have stated that till now, 13 persons have been arrested including the person riding the two-wheeler and his son.