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Mob burns 60-year-old alive in Assam: Police
“We got information around 6 pm that a person, who was later identified as Ranjit Bordoloi, was burnt to death and buried following a local customary court’s decision. A team was immediately rushed to the spot which recovered Bordoloi’s body from a freshly dug grave,” Kaliabor sub-divisional police officer (SDPO) Mrinmoy Das said.
A 60-year-old man in Assam was allegedly burnt to death by a mob of villagers after a kangaroo court declared him guilty of murdering a woman relative, police said on Sunday.
Five persons, including three women, have been detained for questioning, they added.
The incident took place around 5 pm on Saturday at Borlalung Gaon, an interior tribal village located nearly 20 km from the highway under Samaguri police station, in Nagaon district of central Assam.
“We got information around 6 pm that a person, who was later identified as Ranjit Bordoloi, was burnt to death and buried following a local customary court’s decision. A team was immediately rushed to the spot which recovered Bordoloi’s body from a freshly dug grave,” Kaliabor sub-divisional police officer (SDPO) Mrinmoy Das said.
Bordoloi, a farmer, had sustained nearly 90% burns. The body has been sent for post-mortem and its report is awaited. A murder case has been registered, Das said.
Preliminary investigation revealed that the body of one Kabita Patar, a woman in her mid 20s who was Bordoloi’s neighbour, was allegedly found in a village pond on the morning of July 2. The woman was married to Bordoloi’s nephew two months ago and was reportedly pregnant, the officer said.
“Villagers initially thought Kabita may have died due to drowning and cremated her without informing the police. But on July 5, rumours started circulating in the village that Kabita was murdered and her body thrown in the pond,” he added.
On Saturday, villagers gathered and held a kangaroo court where Bordoloi was declared as responsible for Kabita’s death. While police say some villagers claimed Bordoloi had admitted to killing the woman, the claim is yet to be verified, Das said.
“Soon after the court pronounced Bordoloi guilty, nearly 50-60 villagers allegedly went to his house and picked him up. He was first severely thrashed and then allegedly burnt to death by pouring kerosene. The villagers then buried the burnt body in a grave,” the officer said.
The deceased woman’s husband, mother-in-law, sister-in-law and two other villagers have been detained for their alleged involvement in Bordoloi’s murder. All five are likely to be arrested, police said.
“Those detained include a woman named Bharati Bordoloi, who was the first person to spread the rumours that Kabita was murdered and that the deceased Bordoloi could be responsible for her death. Her interrogation is expected to give us more leads,” Das said.
“Following Saturday’s incident, most villagers have fled the village. We are conducting search operations and arrests are expected. This entire incident happened because people from the area still practice customary laws where local courts decide on most matters and residents usually don’t report incidents of crime to the police,” he added.
