Aizawl: An Army man, travelling home on vacation, was allegedly beaten to death by a group of youths in an incident of road rage in Mizoram’s Kolasib district, police said on Monday.
Eight people, including two minors, have been held in connection with the incident, which took place on Sunday evening on NH-306 near Bualpui village, they said.
Kolasib Superintendent of Police Lalrinpuia Varte said the victim, Zakaria Lalhriattluanga (29), was serving in the Assam Regiment and was deployed in Jammu and Kashmir.
He was on vacation and travelling home to his native village, New Builum near Kolasib, along with his friend John Laltanpuia, who received him at Lengpui airport in Aizawl on Sunday.
The two were travelling in a truck towards Kolasib when they were allegedly assaulted near Bualpui village by a group of youths from Kawnpui town, who were returning from a picnic, Varte said.
“A minor traffic dispute reportedly broke out between the two groups and escalated into a fight,” he added.
The SP said that Zakaria died at the spot, while Laltanpuia, who was driving the truck, sustained minor injuries in the assault near the coffee plantation area along the highway.
Following a complaint lodged by Zakaria’s mother, police registered a murder case and launched an investigation leading to the arrest of 8 suspects, including two teenagers, he said.
He said six of the accused, comprising five men and a woman, were sent to jail, while the two minors were handed over to the Juvenile Justice Board (JJB).