A CORRESPONDENT
DIGBOI: Tension gripped Digboi in Tinsukia district after a 26-year-old Adivasi youth was allegedly lynched in broad daylight at Chariali Bazar, sparking widespread protests, a highway blockade, and mounting public outrage.
The victim, Buddheshwar Garh, a resident of the residential line quarters of Bogapani Tea Garden, was reportedly suspected of stealing fish from the market when he was allegedly attacked by a group of fish vendors and local businessmen on Thursday morning. What began as an allegation soon escalated into mob violence. Garh later succumbed to his injuries, triggering shock and anger among tea garden communities and Adivasi organizations across the region.
Within hours, the incident snowballed into a major law-and-order situation. On Friday, hundreds of protesters, including tea garden workers and members of Adivasi student bodies, took to the streets and enforced a blockade at Digboi Chariali along NH-38, disrupting vehicular movement for several hours.
Shops and commercial establishments shut down as tensions ran high, with protest leaders warning of a prolonged agitation unless all accused were arrested and exemplary punishment ensured.
Police registered a case at Digboi PS (No. 12/2026) under Sections 189(4), 127(2), 196(1)(b), 103(1), and 103(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023, invoking charges including unlawful assembly, aggravated wrongful restraint, promoting enmity between communities, and murder. Police have arrested and remanded five accused-Shero Khan, Sonu Bhattacharjee, Bikram Sahani, Ajit Ali, and Ramajan Khan-to judicial custody. Senior police officials stated that further arrests are likely, with CCTV footage from the market being examined to identify others allegedly involved in the assault.
Despite the arrests, public anger showed little sign of subsiding. Protesters demanded Rs 1 crore in compensation for the bereaved family, educational support for the deceased's children, and the harshest possible punishment for those involved in the lynching. They also called for Chariali Bazar to be renamed as "Buddheshwar Bazar" in memory of the slain youth, describing it as a symbolic tribute and a mark of justice.
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