Rescued ‘sadhus’ with Army men.
Haflong, July 6 (PTI): Army and police personnel have rescued three ‘sadhus’ from getting lynched by a mob, which suspected them to be child-lifters, at Mahur railway station in Dima Hasao district of Assam, officials said today.
District officials said Armymen posted at an adjacent camp and police officers came to the rescue of three persons yesterday after hundreds of people had gathered to attack them in the wake of rumours of child-lifting.
The belongings of the ‘sadhus’ were thrown open by the mob, videographed and shared on social media, further fuelling the hearsays, the officials said.
Following the incident, the district administration, under the chairmanship of Deputy Commissioner Amitabh Rajkhowa and Superintendent of Police Prasanta Saikia, called for an emergency meeting yesterday.
In the last few weeks, there have been several attempts by the district administration to make people aware about news circulating on social media without any base or authenticity, the officials said.
In a similar incident on June 8, two friends, who had gone to a picnic spot in Karbi Anglong, were stopped on their way back by a group of villagers and lynched on the suspicion of being child-lifters.
