Amnesty International demands investigation into Dimapur lynching incident

Guwahati: Amnesty International India on Saturday demanded that the incident of lynching of the rape accused in Nagaland must be investigated and members of the mob should be brought to justice.

"This is a serious lapse in the criminal justice system and the Nagaland government must ensure that every person who was part of the mob is brought to justice," Amnesty International India Programmes Director Shemeer Babu said.

"Failure to do so will send the message that anyone can commit outrageous abuses and attempt to justify them as an expression of public anger.

"Nagaland authorities must uphold the rule of law. Violence against women needs to be tackled with swift and effective responses from the state, not with barbarism by self-appointed vigilantes," Babu said.

Syed Farid Khan had been arrested on suspicion of raping a woman in Dimapur on February 24 and remanded to judicial custody in the Dimapur Central Jail the next day.

On March 5, a mob broke into the jail, dragged him out, stripped him naked, beat him up, pelted him with stones and dragged him towards the centre of Dimapur town, seven kilometres away.

He died from his injuries along the way after which the mob dragged his body to a clock tower and displayed it.