Mob Crime at Baghmari

The killing of a policeman on duty by a mob in Baghmari village in Sonitpur district deserves the strongest condemtion and concerted action by the police to apprehend all the crimils. According to available reports, a police team led by the OC, Manoj Boruah, had arrived at the village around midnight on Wednesday in connection with a theft that that had taken place at the Power Grid project site at Baghmari. As soon as the policemen started their investigations, some villagers raised a hue and cry, saying that the police team had come to b suspected Bangladeshis. This created panic among the villagers, and some of them attacked the police team with sharp weapons. During the attack, police constable Dwipen Hazarika died on the spot and five others were seriously injured. Thereafter, Mavendra Devroy, SP of Biswanth district and Pallav Gopal Jha, SDO (Civil) along with an additiol force brought the situation under control and picked up seven persons in this connection. The Home Department of Assam must not take this lying down and must do everything possible to make crimil mobs realize that killing of a policeman on duty invokes the most stringent punishment. A mob cannot be allowed to dictate what duties a police force can do and what it cannot. And even if the police had gone to b suspected Bangladeshis, this was well within their responsibilities.