Student Activist Lynched to Death in Assam's Jorhat, Police Arrests 13

All Assam Students' Union leader Animesh Bhuyan was lynched by a mob of people following an alleged road accident.

Representational image of a crime scene.

(Photo: iStock)

Thirteen people have been arrested in a case concerning the lynching of a student leader in Assam's Jorhat on Monday, 29 November.

Twenty-eight-year-old All Assam Students' Union (AASU) leader Animesh Bhuyan was allegedly lynched by a group of people on Monday, after a heated argument following a road accident.

Two others were severely wounded in the incident, which took place near the Jorhat truck stand, as per news agency PTI. Bhuyan and his associates were reportedly accosted for hitting an elderly man on a two-wheeler with their vehicle.

"The old man's son and some of his friends were present at the parking lot. They rushed to the spot and started an argument with Bhuyan and the two persons accompanying him accusing them of causing the accident. More people joined and the incident soon escalated into a full blown physical attack," Superintendent of Police Ankur Jain told PTI.

The police, upon reaching the site of the accident, had taken the three assaulted men to the hospital, where Bhuyan was declared dead.

“We have arrested 13 people including the prime accused Neeraj Das, who is known to be a habitual offender,” Jain was quoted as saying by The Indian Express, adding though there were several onlookers at the time of the brawl, “no one intervened.”

The deceased had been serving as the education secretary of AASU's Golaghat district unit education secretary, PTI reported.

Assam CM Condoles Bhuyan's Death, Orders Fast-Tracking of Case

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Tuesday said that he has directed the Assam Police to file the charge sheet in the lynching case within one month. Sarma also noted that an ex gratia compensation of Rs 5 lakh will be provided to the Bhuyan's kin.

"We are deeply saddened by the untimely and tragic death of a young man named Animesh Bhuiyan in a tragic incident in Jorhat," the chief minister said in a tweet in Assamese.

"All those identified as involved in the incident have already been arrested We are instructing the administration to provide for the punishment of the guilty in the fast track court. We have directed the Director General of Special Police, Shri GP Singh, to personally supervise the investigation into the incident and submit the chargesheet within a month."

Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma

"Dr Ranoz Peguve, Senior Minister of our Government, has visited the bereaved family and conveyed his deepest condolences to the bereaved. The government will issue a cheque of Rs 5 lakh to the family," he added.