Dimapur lynching incident rocks Assam assembly

Guwahati, March 9 (IANS) The fifth day of the budget session of the Assam legislative assembly on Monday witnessed noisy scenes over the lynching of a rape accused in Nagaland's Dimapur town.

The problem started after some of the opposition members raised concerns over former Assam minister and Congress legislator Siddeque Ahmed's statement that he had prior information that the mob will break into the jail in Dimapur and kill the rape accused and that he had informed Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi about this on the morning of March 5.

Ahmed had on Sunday said that he had informed the chief minister and requested him to take up the matter with the Nagaland government.

However, the chief minister negated the possibility of such an incident and ignored the matter, Ahmed had alleged.

The former Border Area Development minister, who was dropped from the Gogoi cabinet last year for anti-party activities, also alleged that the victim could have been saved had the chief minister taken up the matter with the neighbouring state.

The opposition MLAs demanded a clarification from the government over the statement of Siddeque Ahmed.

"Ahmed is a Congress legislator and he has said that he had informed about the matter to chief minister several hours before the lynching...We want to know the truth. If he had informed the chief minister, then why did the chief minister not take up the matter," said AIUDF legislator Rafikul Islam.

AGP legislator Padma Hazarika demanded a statement by the government on the issue. "Ahmed is a Congress legislator and he has brought the allegation against the government run by his party. We must take it seriously and inquire into the matter," Hazarika said while demanding a statement from the government.

Assam government spokesman Rockybul Hussain, however, said there is no need for a statement as the government had taken all necessary steps over the incident.

"This is a sensitive matter and the Opposition is trying to politicize the issue," he said.

Assembly Speaker Pranab Gogoi, however, ruled that the government should write to the central government to verify whether there was any prior information about the jail break incident and subsequent killing of Syed Farid Khan, the rape accused.

"The Centre must find out if there is any truth in Ahmed's statement and if there is no truth, action should be taken against him by the state government," the speaker ruled.

Meanwhile, the Congress Legislature Party (CLP) has served a show-cause notice to Ahmed seeking an explanation for his statement.

The Assam Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) has also served a show-cause notice to the legislator asking him to explain his position within three days, failing which the party might initiate disciplinary action against him.