Protests rocked Assam, especially in the three districts in the Barack Valley in the state, following the lynching of a rape accused in Nagaland’s Dimpaur town on March 5.
Nagaland Police have arrested 18 people in connection with the lynching.
The arrests were made since last evening after going through the mobile video clippings during the incident and their interrogation is on, they said.
The victim Syed Farid Khan, who was dragged out of jail and beaten to death, was buried at his native village in Karimganj amidst tight security yesterday.
Khan was buried in Karimganj’s Bosla village. A huge turnout was reported with former minister and Karimganj (south) MLA Siddeque Ahmed attending, Karimganj deputy commissioner Sanjiv Gohain Boruah said.
Khan’s body was airlifted to Karimganj last evening after Nagaland authorities handed over his body to the Dimapur Muslim Council.
Khan’s brother Jamal Uddin Khan claimed that his brother was framed in the rape case as the medical examination of the girl, who alleged rape, indicated that there had been no sexual assault. “We are sons of the soil. We can’t be Bangladeshis just because we are Bengali Muslims,” Nasiruddin, Khan’s brother, told The Times of India.
A 12-hour bandh was called which paralysed normal life in three districts of Barak Valley.
The bandh, called by several political, social and business organisations was total with all shops and market places closed and vehicular traffic remaining off the road, official reports from the districts said.
The day being a yesterday, all schools and educational institutions, offices and banks were closed.
There was, however, no report of any untoward incident from the three districts of Karimganj, Cachar and Hailakandi of the valley, officials said.
Meanwhile, medical reports related to the alleged rape incident in Dimapur in Nagaland were awaited.
