Nagaon (Assam), Apr 20: Eight years after a mob lynched two men on suspicion of being child-lifters, a Nagaon Court on Monday convicted 20 people and acquitted 25 others accused in the case.
The Nagaon District Sessions Judge D J Mahanta convicted 20 of the 45 accused in the case under various sections of the Indian Penal Code, including murder committed by one or more members of an unlawful assembly, rioting, obstructing a public servant from performing their official duty and voluntarily causing hurt.
The court also ruled that the prosecution failed to prove its case against 25 others who were arrested in connection with this and are currently lodged in jail.
The sentence for the accused will be pronounced on April 24.
The judge directed the Superintendent of Nagaon Central Jail to release the acquitted persons, while the accused, along with their counsels, should be present in the court for the sentence on April 24.
Altogether 48 persons were arrested in connection with the case, but three other accused were minors and are currently lodged in the Jorhat Juvenile Home.
The two men, 29-year-old Nilotpal Das and 30-year-old Abhijeet Nath, went to the Kangthilangso picnic spot under the Dokmoka police station in Karbi Anglong and on their return, a group of irate villagers stopped their vehicle at Panjuri, pulled them out and began beating them on June 8, 2018.
In a video circulated on social media, both Das and Nath pleaded that they were not child-lifters but Assamese youth visiting Karbi Anglong.
Das, a sound engineer based in Mumbai, had come to Assam on vacation and, along with Nath, a businessman, had gone to Karbi Anglong to capture sounds of nature and visit some scenic spots.
The police had rushed the duo to a hospital, but both died on the way.
The fathers of both the men, Gopal Chandra Das and Ajit Kumar Nath, were present at the court on Monday and told waiting mediapersons that they were dissatisfied with the acquittal of 25 persons and will move the Gauhati High Court against this verdict.
