Mob assault in Assam again

Youth assaulted in Darrang, FIRs lodged

A Correspondent

TANGLA, June 20: Darrang district has grabbed media headlines for a wrong reason, an occurrence reminiscent of the Dokmoka lynching which jolted the State and nation on June 8. In yet another gruesome incident of moral policing and mob violence, an innocent youth was mercilessly assaulted by a group near Adarsha village under Kalaigaon Police Station in Darrang. The video which has gone viral on several social media platforms, shows some unruly people, allegedly led by one Pankaj Hazarika, tying the forehands of a youth and savagely assaulting him. The youth has been identified as Bijay Ray (23).

Bijay, son of Habul Chandra Ray, a resident of Ward No.1 of Gauripur town under Gauripur Police Station in Dhubri district, works for cellular tower companies and had travelled for work purpose to Bishnupur village under Mangaldai Police Station in Darrang. The police said that incident took place on June 9 when Bijay was on his way to Adarasha village under the limits of Kalaigaon police station area in Darrang and was accosted and beaten up by the group. Bijay said that on receiving a phone call from a girl whom he had known in past, he visited the village to meet her. In the video, the youth is seen screaming, “I am Assamese,” and telling the mob his parents’ names and his address in an attempt to convince them to stop assaulting him. They did not stop there and someone from the mob asks the youth if he is a Bangladeshi, whether or not his name has been included in the draft NRC.

The Udalguri district AKRSU led by its president and secretary, Hemanta Bora Koch and Nabajit Koch, along with secretary of the Consortium of Koch Royal Families (CONKORF), Pranab Narayan Dev Koch have lodged two separate FIRs in this regard. The organizations have demanded proper investigation into the matter and arrest of the culprits involved at the earliest.

Darrang Superintendent of Police, Sreejith T told The Sentinel that the FIRs had been clubbed and registered under relevant sections and the prime accused, Pankaj Hazarika surrendered on Wednesday and police were on the lookout for the other co-accused. He further informed that the victim and the accused both reported the incident at Mangaldai Police Station on June 9 and gave it in writing that a scuffle had taken place and they did not intend to proceed further. The Mangaldai Police later left the youth on personal recognizance bond after medical treatment, the report of which is yet to be obtained.