Dokmoka Mob Lynching: Abhi-Neel case awaits justice, First Death Anniversary observed today

Guwahati: One must have not forgotten the day of the brutal mob lynching incident at Karbi Anglong’s Dokmoka where two youths from Guwahati became victims of fake social media reports on child-kidnapping or child theft case on June 8, 2018.

It has been almost a year now, the mob lynching case of Abhi and Neel still awaits justice. There have been several hearings in connection to the matter, all the accused who were involved in this case were taken into judicial custody.

Incident Summary

Abhijeet Nath and Nilotpal Das went for a short vacation to Karbi Anglong’s Dokmoka. Suspecting them to be child abductors, the locals brutally thrashed the two boys and both have succumbed to their injuries.

First Incident at Dokmoka

People of Dokmoka first spotted “two suspicious” persons in the evening hours on Friday. Suspecting them to be child-abductors, the locals gheraoed their vehicle and when the boys tried to “escape” from the spot, the locals started to physically assault them. By the time police reached, the locals fled from the spot.

Fear Psychosis gripped different parts of Assam

On the other hand, fear psychosis gripped different parts of Assam following the news of attacks by the child-abductors. Police stated that a group of miscreants are trying to “create terror by using the fake child theft theory”. Police also mentioned that these miscreants are using the social media to spread the fake news.

In some parts, locals also stated that they have “spotted or seen” child-abductors with their faces covered with black cloths. Cases of people reeling under child-abduction terror have been reported in Sonari, Biswanath, Titabor, Nagaon and so on.

As per reports, according to the locals on Titabor, the two boys “tried to lure a young girl by offering an apple and later tried to molest her”, but she “ran away”.

Police have asked the public to refrain from blindly following any such false messages and report to police in case of any “unusual happening”.

“Don’t kill me, I am an Assamese,” pleaded Nilotpal Das, before being killed by Mob in Karbi Anglong

A heart-wrenching video of Nilotpal Das went viral. As per the visuals, before being brutally killed by the mob, Nilotpal was seen pleading to let him go.

In the video, Nilotpal, with his hands folded and face covered with blood, was heard saying, “Don’t kill me…please don’t beat me. I am an Assamese. Believe me, I am speaking the truth. My father’s name is Gopal Chandra Das and mother’s name is Radhika Das…please let me go.”

The mob, which gheraoed Nilotpal, didn’t listen to his repeated pleadings and prayers and continued to thrash him with the bamboo sticks.

Case Registered at Dokmoka Police Station

A case was registered at the Dokmoka Police Station. It is to be noted that when the boys asked the local villagers for directions on Kangthilangso, some of the locals got suspicious. Two men reportedly intimated the others regarding the “child abductors” coming in “a black Scorpio vehicle” and asked them to attack the vehicle.

The vehicle was damaged and items in the vehicle were also destroyed along with the mobile phone sets of Abhi and Neel.

Social Media: Netizens condemned the Mob Lynching Incident

Back home, the death of Abhi and Neel had descended a pall of gloom across the state. Netizens condemning the mob lynching incident urged the police to book the culprits.

“He is an artist and comes from a well-to-do family…why will he abduct children. He is a victim of a mob attack. Even if anyone had any suspicion, they should have informed the police. Nobody has the right to take law in their hands,” said a relative of Nilotpal while talking to media. The relative added, “We want the chief minister to order a high-level probe into the incident. We want justice.”

Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal ordered a probe into the incident

Assam Police files charge sheet in Karbi Anglong mob lynching case at Diphu court

Assam Police files the charge sheet of the barbaric Karbi Anglong mob lynching case in a Diphu court at 2 pm on Saturday.

An 800-page charge sheet has been prepared by the Assam Police.

As many as 47 accused, including the mastermind, arrested in relation with the case will be produced before the court on September 1, 2018.

Trial of Karbi Anglong mob lynching case shifted to Nagaon

The trial of the sensational mob lynching case of Abhi and Neel in Karbi Anglong was shifted to Nagaon “to avoid undue influence from local factors” on September 4, 2018.

As per the order of the Gauhati High Court, a division bench of Gauhati High Court, comprising Chief Justice Ajit Singh and Justice Manojit Bhuyan, directed the to the Court of Chief Judicial Magistrate, Nagaon to begin the trial and to hear the case in fast track court.

The Nagaon District and Sessions Court recorded statements of four eyewitnesses in the Dokmoka mob lynching case.

Six eyewitnesses were asked to attend the court on January 5, 2019, but only four of them turned up to record their statements in Nagaon central jail.

The court heard the framing of charges against the 47 accused in the sensational Dokmoka mob lynching incident on December 1, 2018.

First Death Anniversary Observed on May 29th, 2019

The trial of Abhi-Neel case is still pending, however, the family members, friends and people of Assam who are still hoping for the final verdict in this mob lynching case to be in Abhi-Neel's favour.

Today on May 29, 2019, the first death anniversary of the deceased Abhijit Nath and Nilotpal Das was observed in their respective residences.

Family members of the deceased had demanded fast track trial in connection to the case. “We are waiting for the justice, we are hopeful to the judicial system,” asserts mother of deceased Nilotpal Das today.