Assam: After fish trader’s custodial death, mob sets police station on fire

GUWAHATI: A mob of few hundreds, retaliating an alleged custodial death, attacked a police station at the birthplace of Vasihnavite saint Srimanta Sankardeva in Assam’s Nagaon district, beat up the police personnel on duty and burned down the station after vandalizing it on Saturday.
The mob stormed the Batadrava police station after a fish trader, Safiqul Islam of Salanibari area, who was picked up by police on Friday night and detained at the police station died on Saturday.
Video footages captured by TV cameras showed a woman pouring some inflammable liquid on motorbikes parked at the station’s verandah and another woman throwing a lighted matchstick to start the fire, which very soon engulfed the police station. A large number of documents, seized items, including guns, were destroyed in the fire that turned into an inferno.
Before the fire, the mob ransacked the police station and beat up every policemen they could lay their hands on. Two injured cops were later shifted to hospital. The mob also pelted stones.
Nagaon SP Leena Doley said, “This man (Safiqul) was not an accused. Some people found him in drunken state at Bhumuraguri. On being informed, police brought him to police station and informed his family. His family members came to police station this morning and after they fed him some food, he became ill and was taken to the nearest PHC from where he was referred to Nagaon hospital. He was declared brought dead at the hospital.”
“We have seen video footages and arrested three persons so far. We will get the others too. We have also started an enquiry to find any lapse on the part of police and action will be taken against any police personnel found guilty,” said Doley when asked about the allegation of demanding bribe against police.
This is the second incident of police coming under attack by civilians in the state in recent times. In September last year, hundreds of villagers clashed with police during an eviction drive by government in the Dhalpur area of Darrang district. Two villagers were killed in police firing and nine policemen were injured in stone pelting and attacks by sharp weapons.