GUWAHATI: Over a dozen people, including police personnel, were injured in Assam when a mob attacked a group of nine people, suspecting them to be child-lifters.
The incident was reported from Nitainagar in southern Assam’s Hailakandi district on Friday night. At least 13 police personnel were among the injured.
Hailakandi Sadar police station officer-in-charge Hemanta Kumar Das and second officer Ashok Chakraborty had sustained grievous injuries in the attack.
Das had been rushed to Guwahati Medical College and Hospital.
Chakraborty was undergoing treatment at a local hospital.
Armed with sticks and machetes, the mob had attacked a vehicle in which the nine people were travelling following rumours that they were child-lifters.
The police said the nine people, including police constable Jamil Hussain, were travelling to Laskarbazar weekly cattle market at Nitainagar.
The mob suspected them to be child-lifters and attacked them. It also set ablaze their vehicle, the police said.
When a team of police personnel rushed to the site on learning about the incident, it too had come under the attack.
The team was led by Das.
The mob also did not spare some locals who had tried to save the policemen from the attack.
When reports last came in on Saturday, the situation was tense.
The police said they had identified some of the accused persons and efforts were being made to arrest them.
Hailakandi district has a mixed population of Hindus and Muslims.
District Magistrate Keerthi Jalli has appealed to people to maintain calm.
She said some people were creating a fear psychosis based on unfounded rumours.