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2015 Dimapur mob lynching

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2015 Dimapur mob lynching refers to a case of mob lynching that took place in Dimapur, Nagaland in India, on 5 March 2015.[1] A mob of about 7000-8000 people broke into a prison, dragged out a rape accused out of the Dimapur Central Jail, paraded him naked and beat him to death.[2]

Events

Location of Dimapur in India
Location of Dimapur in India
Dimapur
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Location of Dimapur in India

Alleged rape

On 23 February 2015, the accused had allegedly raped the victim in a forest area and on 24 February in a hotel. The victim filed a report with the police on 24 February.[3] Initially, the victim was described as a minor, but later reports revealed her to be a 22 year-old woman.[2] The accused was arrested on 25 February.[4]

The accused was later named as Syed Farid Khan, a 27 year-old used car business. Originally from, Karimganj district of Assam, he had been living in Nagaland for 8 years. He was married to a Nagaland woman for 4 years and had a three year-old daughter. Two of his brothers work in the Indian Army.[5]

The family of the accused claimed that he was framed. One of his brothers, who also lived in Dimapur and ran a business said the woman who had filed the case was close the accused's family and was well-acquainted with his wife. The woman had invited Farid to a hotel with some other persons on 23 February. She forced him to drink and demanded ₹200,000 from him. On being refused, she filed a case the next day.[5]

Mob attack

On 5 March, a 2000-3000 people broke into the Dimapur Central Jail.[2] They dragged the accused to a clock tower about 7 km away, while parading him naked and beat him to death on the way.[5][2] The body was displayed from the clock tower's railings, until police came and took it down.[6] The Superintendent of Police Meren Jamir later said that the mob was led by a group of a few hundred school and college girls in uniforms, which prevented the police from using more force. Jamir said that initial the crowd was small and they had been repelled by lathi charges. But, later the mob returned with larger numbers.[3] Even though 8 companies of security forces were present at the jail they failed to stop the mob.[2]

The police had fired blanks and tears gases at the crowd but had failed to disperse them.[1] One member of the mob was killed and 52 members of the police were injured in the clashes. The mob also burnt 10 police vehicles.[5]

Initially, it was reported that the man was an illegal immigrant from Bangladesh. There had calls from local organisations to expel outsiders. The incident was also attributed to the faulty justice system of the state, which had obtained few convictions in various cases of rape.[5]

Aftermath

In the home state of the accused, Assam, All Assam Minority Students' Union burnt an effigy of the Nagaland government in Nagaon, accusing the government of discriminating against minorities living in the state and demand an invesgitation by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on 6 March.[7]

On 6 March, Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi condemned the attack and discussed the matter with Home Minister Rajnath Singh and Nagaland Chief Minister T. R. Zeliang.[7] Dimapur Deputy Police Commissioner Wezope Kenye and Superintendent of Police Meren Jamir were suspended on the evening of 6 March. The Central Jail Chief was also suspended.[8][5] Residents of Nagaland were asked to avoid traveling into Assam. Shops and commercial established remained closed on 6 March in Dimapur under a curfew.[5][9]

On 7 March, truckers from Assam stopped moving goods into Nagaland in protest of the incident. They also alleged they are harassed in Nagaland and asked to pay illegal tolls.[6] Amnesty International India on 7 March demanded an investigation into the incident, calling it a serious lapse of the justice system.[10] The curfew continued in Dimapur.[9] Chief Minister Zeliang said there there had been administrative lapses and that relaxing the Section 177 of the CrPC, which prohibits unlawful assembly, in Nagaland was a mistake.[2] He also said that the social media was responsible inciting the incident.[11] Chief Minister Gogoi blamed the security force of the central government for failing to protect the jail.[12] On the same day, the rape victim in an interview claimed that she had been given ₹5,000 by the accused who was her neighbour to remain silent about the incident.[13]

Investigation

On 6 March, it was reported the police was examining the CCTV footage from the Dimapur hotel were the rape allegedly took place.[5] The Superintendent of Police Meren Jamir said that the footage showed the girl entering and leaving the room with the accused.[3] On the same day, it was announced that Zeilang's state cabinet had appointed Veprasa Nyekha, a retired district and sessions judge, to head a judicial inquiry commission.[8]

Tarun Gogoi, the chief minister of Assam, however claimed that according to an "unofficial medical report" that there was no evidence of rape. According to the claim of the family of Khan, the girl was known to them and had demanded money from him and later framed the whole incident of rape, which was also supported by unnamed home ministry sources and the Hindustan Times. The girl, meanwhile, told a TV channel that the accused gave her money to remain silent about the incident. Nasiruddin, brother of Khan has said that the complainant was his wife's cousin. While the mob deliberately and falsely claimed that Khan was an 'Illegal Bangladeshi Immigrant', it is now found that Khan was actually an Indian hailing from a family of army men. Khan was one of the six sons of late Siraj Uddin Khan who had served the Indian Army for two decades. His two brothers — Kamal Uddin and Jamal Uddin — are also jawans in the Army[14]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "Rape accused dragged out of jail, lynched in Nagaland". The Times of India. 5 March 2015. Retrieved 7 March 2015.
  2. ^ a b c d e f "Dimapur mob lynching case: Situation remains tense in Assam, Nagaland; no arrests so far". IBNLive. 7 March 2015. Retrieved 7 March 2015.
  3. ^ a b c "Hundreds of girls in school, college uniforms led lynch mob, says Dimapur SP". The Indian Express. 7 March 2015. Retrieved 7 March 2015.
  4. ^ "Nagaland fires 3 policemen after mob lynches rapist to death". Deccan Chronicle. 7 March 2015. Retrieved 7 March 2015.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h "Rush to pre-empt lynching backlash". The Telegraph (India). 7 March 2015. Retrieved 7 March 2015.
  6. ^ a b "Dimapur lynching: Assam truckers stop plying to Nagaland". The Hindu. 7 March 2015. Retrieved 7 March 2015.
  7. ^ a b "Lynch backlash alert in Assam - Gogoi moves Delhi, Zeliang". The Telegraph (India). 6 March 2015. Retrieved 7 March 2015.
  8. ^ a b "Nagaland lynching rape accused: 3 suspended, judicial probe ordered". The Times of India. 6 March 2015. Retrieved 7 March 2015.
  9. ^ a b "Curfew continues for 2nd day in Dimapur, Nagaland CM admits to administrative lapses". NDTV. 7 March 2015. Retrieved 7 March 2015.
  10. ^ "Amnesty International Demands Investigation into Nagaland Lynching". NDTV. 7 March 2015. Retrieved 7 March 2015.
  11. ^ "Nagaland CM blames social media for lynching, rape suspect's brother says attack politically motivated". Hindustan Times. 7 March 2015. Retrieved 7 March 2015.
  12. ^ "Lynching incident: Tarun Gogoi blames central forces". The Financial Express (India). 7 March 2015. Retrieved 7 March 2015.
  13. ^ "Lynched man gave me Rs 5000 as hush money: Woman". Sify. 7 March 2015. Retrieved 7 March 2015.
  14. ^ "New facts in Dimapur lynching: Khan from military family, not 'Bangladeshi illegal'". http://www.firstpost.com. Retrieved 8 March 2015. {{cite news}}: External link in |publisher= (help)
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