GUWAHATI: Assam police have arrested Alphajoz Timung, the person who had made the phone call to falsely alert some villagers that the duo– Abhijeet Nath and Nilotpal Das – had lifted a child from Kangthilangso and were proceeding to Dokmoka on a vehicle, leading to their lynching on that fateful evening of June 8.
Assam DGP, Kuladhar Saikia told reporters here on Wednesday that Timung was arrested from a “basti” in the Kangthilangso area around 1.30am this morning based on information and he has confessed to have made the phone call to villagers in Dokmoka
“Timung had accused Abhijeet and Nilotpal of being “child lifters” following which there was an altercation. The duo thereafter left Kangthilangso on a vehicle even as stones were thrown by some youths. In the meantime, Timung made the call to mislead the villagers that the duo were child lifters and that they were moving towards Dokmoka on a vehicle with a child,” Saikia said.
The duo from Guwahati had gone to Karbi Anglong on a pleasure trip only to be brutally killed by a mob at Panjuri Kacharigaon, about 14km fromDokmoka police station.
The state police have till Wednesday evening arrested 28 persons in connection with the incident. Some of the arrested are in judicial custody. Besides, 35 others have been rounded up for uploading hate messages and posts against a community on social media.
“Some other young persons who have posted some objectionable messages have been also counseled,” the state police chief said.
“We have also arrested one Binod Lahkar from Sonapur where he was hiding. He was one of the persons among others whom Timung had falsely informed that the duo were child lifters. We cannot reveal the other names as it would hamper our investigation,” Saikia said.
The DGP said Timung’s mobile phone has been seized. “We have seized several other phones of villagers and are verifying the call records. We also have Nilotpal’s phone with us,” he said.
Timung, he said, was also involved in another murder case a few years back.
Pledging that the guilty would not be spared, Saikia said the news being shared was based on primary investigation. “Things are a bit hazy now. Senior officers are there and a report will be submitted following which we can come to a conclusion. Here I would like to thank the people in general, the villagers and the media for helping us in our investigation against hate messages and posts on social media,” he said.
Asked about a policeman shooting a video of the incident on his mobile phone, the DGP said investigation is on to find out whether he was directed by someone or was doing the same on his own.