Niraj Das, the key accused in the case concerning the lynching of a student leader in Assam, was killed in a road accident while allegedly trying to flee police custody on the night of Tuesday, 30 November. He was allegedly hit by a police vehicle, The Indian Express reported.
Jorhat SP Ankur Jain spoke to the daily and said, "The investigating officer was interrogating him last evening when he revealed some information on a hidden drug assignment."
While being escorted to the site where the professed drug consignment was stored, Das allegedly jumped out of the back of the jeep when the escort vehicle, which was following, hit him. Three police officers in the escort vehicle also sustained injuries, as per the police.
Das was reportedly declared dead on arrival at the Jorhat Medical College and Hospital (GMCH).
Special DG GP Singh took to Twitter after reports of the incident emerged online and wrote, "For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction – Newton’s Third Law.”
As per The Indian Express, he was unavailable for a comment after his cryptic tweet.
Responding the tweet, Assam Chief Minster Himanta Biswas Sarma posted, "Assam will remain free of crime and criminal – come what May.” He went on to say that he was still disturbed by the events, "because one of our own killed another of our own", The Indian Express quoted.
The Case
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 Assam CM had then directed the police to file a charge sheet within a period of one month and appointed Special DGP GP Singh for personal supervision into the incident's inquiry, Economic Times reported. He also said that he has instructed that the trial be held in a fast-track court.
Thirteen people were arrested in the case.
(With inputs from The Indian Express.)
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