Woman was tied to a pole and beaten up by villagers on suspicion of child lifter

A woman was tied to a pole and beaten up by villagers on suspicion of being a ‘hopa-dhora’ (child lifter) in Sonitpur district of Assam. However, the intervention of some other villagers ensured that the assault stopped and the cops were called.

“We received a call at around 11.10 pm on Friday that villagers of Katani have a woman in their custody,” Numal Mahatta, additional superintendent of police, Sonitpur, said. When police arrived at the village, they found the woman with injuries on her face.

Katani falls under Thelamara police station, about 25 kilometres from Tezpur, the district headquarters.

“The woman has not been able to speak and tell us details about her,” Mahatta said, adding that this could be the reason why she was perceived as a child



lifter.

“Rumours are doing the rounds and people are living in fear. The woman seems to be an outsider and that may have led to the attack,” Mahatta said, adding that they believe the woman to be either from “Bihar or a local adivasi” — as people from the tea tribes are referred to.

She has been admitted to Tezpur Medical College for treatment. Police, however, are yet to register an FIR.

“Nobody has come forward to register a complaint. We may take suo moto cognizance after investigations,” Mahatta said.

Assam has seen multiple cases of mobs attacking individuals after suspecting them to be child lifters. Earlier this month, two young men from Guwahati, Abhijeet Nath and Nilotpal Das, were lynched by a mob in Karbi Anglong after locals mistook them to be child lifters.