Assam villagers lynch ‘cattle thief’

Jorhat: A man, suspected to be a cattle thief, was lynched by angry villagers and his truck set ablaze in the Dergaon area of Assam’s Golaghat district early on Monday.
The incident took place at Rongamati tea estate in the district at 3.30 am when Jinnat Ali (35), along with three others, brought six cows in a mini truck. He was on his way from Rongamati to Guwahati when villagers caught him on the road.
The three other occupants of the vehicle, however, managed to escape. Ali was a resident of Morigaon district. The mob also blocked NH-37 at Rongamati demanding immediate arrest of the culprits who fled the spot. They also pelted stones on police and paramilitary forces deployed there to control the situation. Initially, police resorted to lathicharge and later fired in the air to disperse the mob. Hundreds of vehicles were stranded for more than 2 hours during the incident.
According to police the deceased was a cattle thief. They picked up six cows from some unknown locations of the Rongamati area around midnight on Sunday. Locals caught them and lynched Ali.
“We have registered a case at Dergaon police station and launched an investigation. However, no one has been arrested so far,” said Hemen Das, OC of Dergaon police station. He added, “Preliminary investigation suggests the deceased was a thief and was caught by villagers.”