Darrang mob attack: Prime accused held

Guwahati: Accelerating its investigation, the special investigation team (SIT) late on Thursday night arrested the prime accused in the police station arson case from Assam’s Darrang district.
A mob of a few hundred had vandalized and torched the Batadrava police station in Nagaon district last Saturday over the alleged custodial death of a fish trader, Safiul Islam, on the same day. The police station was burned down.
The accused identified as Alauddin had been absconding after the incident. The SIT identified him during the analysis of the video footage of the incident collected from different sources and traced him to Dhula in Darrang district, where he was hiding.
The SIT, led by additional superintendent of police (security & intelligence) Nirupam Hazarika, arrested Alauddin in cooperation with the Darrang police late on Thursday night.
“He is being interrogated. Investigation shows that he has a number of criminal cases against him. We have identified at least 20 people who indulged in vandalizm and torching of the police station that day. We have already made progress in the case and we will get all the accused arrested soon. I am sure we will be able to complete the investigation within the stipulated time of 45 days and file the charge sheet within 60 days,” said Hazarika.
The woman, who was seen in a video lighting matchsticks and throwing them at motorcycles inside the police station after which the fire engulfed the entire police station, is still absconding.
He further added that preliminary investigation revealed that all the arrested have criminal records. “They were involved in different criminal acts. There are cases and records at the police station which were set on fire. It is clear that their intention was to destroy their criminal records,” he added.
Additional SP, Karbi Anglong district, Prakash Sonowal, who was entrusted with the responsibility of an independent investigation into the death of the fish trader, informed that the probe has made good progress.