Itanagar: Authorities imposed a curfew in Roing town of Arunachal Pradesh’s Lower Dibang Valley district following the lynching of a 19-year-old migrant youth from Assam, allegedly involved in the sexual assault of several minor girls.
Police identified the deceased as Riaz-Ul Kurim, a resident of Bongaigaon in Assam, who was employed at a construction site near a school in Roing.
He was taken into custody on Friday after allegations surfaced that he had sexually assaulted multiple girl students from the school hostel.
The incident came to light after the girls’ parents filed a complaint with the school, prompting a confrontation in which Kurim was initially beaten by the aggrieved parents before being taken into custody by the police.
However, tensions escalated when a mob stormed the police station, forcibly removed Kurim from custody, and assaulted him. He was later taken to a hospital in critical condition, but the mob pursued him there as well and assaulted him again.
He succumbed to his injuries soon after.
Lower Dibang Valley Superintendent of Police Ringu Ngupok confirmed that at least eight minor girls, aged between six and nine, have undergone medical examinations so far.
Preliminary findings suggest the alleged assaults took place over a week.
A senior police official involved in the investigation revealed serious lapses in the hostel’s safety infrastructure, citing the absence of window grills and functioning door locks, which allegedly gave the accused unrestricted access to the hostel at night.
The SP said a parent-teacher meeting was held on Thursday evening after the issue came to light.
By around 8:30 pm, reports emerged that angry parents and relatives of the victims had begun attacking labourers at the construction site where Kurim worked.
Seventeen labourers were rescued by police, and later released after recording their statements.
On Friday, local youths and the victims’ parents located Kurim in a nearby colony and assaulted him.
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Although police intervened and took him into custody, the mob later breached the police station, dragged him out, and beat him again, ignoring appeals for calm by law enforcement and the local MLA.
A post-mortem examination was conducted in the presence of a judicial magistrate at Roing District Hospital.
Police have registered multiple cases related to child sexual abuse, and mob lynching, among others.
Investigations are also underway against the school and hostel management for gross negligence and failure to ensure the safety of the children.
