The villagers of Kumrakata village in Hojai district of Assam tied up a man (whose name is not known till the time of filing of this report) to a pole on Friday and reportedly beat him black and blue on the suspicion that he was a thief. The incident has created much sensation in the area.
On getting the information, the Hojai Police rushed to the spot and rescued the man from the clutches of the angry mob and took him for treatment to the Hojai Civil Hospital.
The villagers told this correspondent that incidences of theft has increased in the said village in the last few days and the people are living in perennial fear. They also said that the man gave them enough reason to suspect that he was indeed a thief.
The villagers further told this correspondent that things have come to such a pass that everyday a person from one of the households (on a rotational basis) stays up the whole night and keeps a watch over the village. In the wee hours on Friday morning, the villagers said, the said man reportedly tried to enter a villager’s house (around 2:30 am) with the intention of stealing. Though the villagers tried to nab him, he managed to flee from the scene. But, early in the morning, he was again seen trying to enter the same person’s house following which the village people tied him to a pole and gave him a thorough thrashing.
The villagers later handed him over to the Hojai police. Few clothes and a rope were recovered from his possession and the man was only giving vague answers. Only a proper police inquiry will reveal the truth.
