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Just a day after escaping from the Jowai jail in Meghalaya, four among six undertrial prisoners, including one called I Love You Talang, were beaten to death allegedly by the residents of Shangpung village in the state's Jaintia hills on Sunday, 11 September, police said.
A group of six inmates escaped from the prison on Saturday, 10 September, after they overpowered the staff there and stabbed a guard. Of the six, five of them reached Shangpung village on 11 September.
Inspector General of Prisons J K Marak told Hindustan Times that the lynching took place at a forest area in Thadmuthlong-Shangpung, located opposite a reserved forest in the periphery of the village. Shangpung village is located less than 70 km from Shillong.
Staggering videos of the incident were widely circulated on social media. In the videos, the villagers can be seen assaulting the escapees with rods and sticks.
Marak confirmed that a group of villagers apprehended four of the undertrials and subsequently lynched them. While four among the five escapees were beaten to death, one managed to flee the scene.
Locals Identified Prisoner and Raised Alarm
One among the five prisoners had gone to buy food at a tea shop at around 3 pm on 11 September when he was identified by locals who raised an alarm, reported PTI.
A large mob showed up and chased the group to a nearby forest where they were assaulted.
Among the escaped prisoners, police identified the five undertrials as I Love You Talang, Ramesh Dkhar, Rikamenlang Lamare, Shidorki Dkhar, Lodestar Tang, and the sixth as convicted murderer, Marsanki Tariang, who was serving rigorous imprisonment, as per Hindustan Times.
I Love You Talang and Ramesh Dkhar were arrested by the police for their involvement in the murder of two taxi drivers in August.
"A case has been registered in the Jowai police station against the prison staff and five of them have been arrested so far. Among the arrested prison staffers are one head warden and four wardens," Marak told PTI.
(With inputs from PTI and Hindustan Times.)
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