“No Politics Of Hate” Says Parents Of One Of The Youths Who Was Lynched By A Mob In Assam

Amidst wide-scale protests and backlash in Assam over the lynching of two Assamese youths in Karbi Anglong district, one of the victim’s family, in a public appeal has asked people to refrain from “politics of hate.” This plea from the parents of Nilotpal Das comes after several news reports from the state which suggested that people belonging to the Karbi community have been attacked by enraged citizens.

Fearing that the incident might take a communal hue, Nilotpal’s parents, Radhika and Gopal Chandra Das issued a public appeal in a local daily on June 12, 2018.

In the appeal, which is in Assamese, the parents called upon the government to maintain law and order in the state while ensuring that the miscreants are caught and punished appropriately.

The appeal also stated that the government has a big role to play in situations like these and it needs to conduct awareness programmes in the villages to help prevent atrocities like these in the future.

The Mob Lynching

Abhijeet Nath and Nilotpal Das, two Assamese youths were beaten to death by a mob in Assam’s Karbi Anglong district on last Friday night, upon suspicions of being child abductors. In a video which went viral on social media, Nilotpal Das was seen pleading and begging in front of the attackers, “Don’t kill me…please don’t beat me. I am an Assamese. I am speaking the truth. My father’s name is Gopal Chandra Das and mother’s name is Radhika Das…please let me go”. However, both of them died on the spot.

Attack On Karbis

Numerous local media reports suggest that angry citizens are targeting the Karbis- the majority tribe in Karbi Anglong district-after the mob lynching incident.

Additionally, at least 22 people have been arrested by the Assamese police in connection to the mob-lynching case and those who have been arrested so far belong to different communities.

The string of arrests do not end there as after the horrid incident, the police have rounded up a number of National Students’ Union of India members for allegedly trying to attack people from Karbi Anglong district, reported The Telegraph. Meanwhile, hate messages have been pouring on social media in Assam where the police arrested one, Simanta Terang.

The police officials have attributed the recent lynching to the spread of “fake news” on social media about a group of kidnappers in Assam. They have been monitoring the same to prevent such rumors from spreading any further.

The Telegraph also reported that one Bhupendra Terang, 18, was arrested and booked under the IT Act on Sunday night for posting false information on Facebook about child kidnappers. There have been more arrests for spreading misinformation in various districts.

Following the numerous attacks on Karbis, the Coordination Committee of the Tribal Organisations of Assam (CCOTOA), on Monday, urged people not to target the Karbi.

Aditya Khakhlari, the chief convener of CCOTOA, told The Telegraph, “The entire Karbi community should not be blamed or targeted because of the incident. It was barbaric and unfortunate. But targeting the entire Karbi community to avenge the killings will be equally unfortunate. This may lead to more social unrest. We appeal to everyone to show restraint.”

The Logical Indian Take

One community cannot be targeted because of one tragic incident. People should not only refrain from the spread of fake news, but help create awareness among others to curb superstitious beliefs from the minds of the masses.

Violence is never the answer to any kind of injustice and when citizens take law and order in their hands, situations are only bound to go out of control. The Logical Indian not only condemns such acts of ignorance, but we stand in solidarity with those who refuse to give this incident a communal colour.