Home Minister Rajnath Singh has expressed concern over the breakdown of law and order in Dimapur, Nagaland, following the lynching of a rape accused on Thursday evening after he was dragged out of jail. One member of the mob was also killed.
The Home Minister said on Friday morning that all security arrangements were in place and that State and Central forces were on alert.
The rape accused has been identified as Farid Khan, said to be an undocument migrant from Bangladesh. He is alleged to have raped a Naga girl in Dimapur and was being detained at the central jail in Dimapur after his arrest on February 24.
The allegation of rape came at a time when there was a growing agitation demanding detection and deportation of 'foreigners' from Nagaland.
On Thursday evening, a mob of students, women and others stormed the jail despite a curfew that was in force from Wednesday. They broke open the jail gate and dragged out the accused; police firing in the air, and later on the mob, had no effect. After being stripped naked he was pulled by a rope towards Dimapur town, seven km away.
On the way he was kicked and punched and by the time the mob reached Dimapur he was dead. But they continued to drag the dead body on the highway. There was a scuffle between police and the mob over possession of the body.
The mob ransacked and destroyed over 20 shops and torched ten vehicles including a police jeep. The State Cabinet reviewed the situation in a late night meeting.
Nagaland Chief Minister T.R. Zeliang also met Minister for State for Development of North Eastern Region Jitendra Singh.
Police have confirmed that one member of the mob, identified as Inito Sema (25), who sustained bullet injuries died on Thursday night in the hospital. Four other persons were also wounded in the police firings.
When tear gas canisters and firings in the air failed to disperse the crowd police are believed to have opened fire at the mob.
Tension is running high. Hundreds of Manipur bound vehicles are stranded along NH 2 which passes through Nagaland. Some of them had managed to return toward Assam.
