GUWAHATI: Twenty-two persons have been arrested in connection with Thursday’s incident in Nagaland’s Dimapur town in which an alleged rape accused was lynched by a mob even as SMS and MMS services in the state remain blocked since Saturday night.
Police said the arrests were made upon the examination of the mobile video clippings of the incident. The situation in the town is tense but under control. A curfew from 3 pm to 12 midnight is in force in the town.
“Twenty-two people have been arrested. We are in the process of identifying more people. So, more arrests are likely,” Nagaland’s Inspector General (Range) Wabang Jamir said on Sunday.
The state government had on Saturday urged the Department of Telecommunication to block internet, SMS and MMS services for 48 hours in the state. Subsequently, SMS and MMS services were blocked. Internet is functional but the services have been erratic.
Uploading photos and videos on the social networking sites has also been blocked. The government said the decision to block the services was taken as the social networking sites were flooded with videos and photos of the lynching incident.
The last rites of the alleged rape accused, Farid Khan, were performed in his native village Bosla in Karimganj district of Assam’s Barak Valley on Sunday. Official sources said the burial took place in the presence of police and a large number of people.
A 12-hour bandh was called in Barak Valley, which comprises of three districts, on Sunday.
The bandh, which was called by some organisations in protest against the Dimapur incident, passed off peacefully.
Meanwhile, the Muslim Council Dimapur said some 4,000 Muslims had fled the town in the past few days. “It is natural that people will be afraid when something big like this happens. Some 4,000 people have fled the town despite our call to stay back,” the Council’s working president Ahidur Rahman said.
The Council appealed to the people, particularly the Muslims, living in the state and elsewhere in the country not to believe or spread any rumours as regards the harassment of any genuine Indian Muslim citizens or attack on any mosques or religious institution in Nagaland.