Of Rumours And A Violent Night

If we wish to bring any semblance of sanity to the State, local people’s faith on the system needs to be restored

- Nasreen Habib

On a warm Friday-weekend in June, two close friends, Nilutpal Das and Abhijit Nath were looking for exotic fish for the latter’s collection near Kangthilangso Waterfall in Dokmoka in West Karbi Anglong. As daylight faded, they decided to return to Guwahati and stopped by Naikrom Subba’s kirana store to buy chocolates around 6.30 pm in the evening.

Recollecting that fateful night, Subba says, ‘I heard a lot of noise and got to know about the 100-200 strong crowd who gheraoed the two boys suspecting them of being xupadhoras (child kidnappers). I thought to myself that they looked like boys of well-to-do households, not criminals. But who would listen to me?’. The video of the violent lynching was later released online, and predictably went ‘viral’. Of Dokmoka Police Station shares the latest update, ‘25 people have been arrested so far, including the main accused Alphajoz Timung who (allegedly) instigated the mob to attack the two boys,’. It was Timung who had conveyed information about the two boys buying chocolates for the ‘kidnapped kids’ and the fact that they were travelling in a Black SUV.