Mass arrests made in India following brutal lynching of rape suspect

Police in India charged 18 people on Sunday after a frenzied mob stormed a prison and lynched a man accused of rape in the country’s northeast on Thursday, a senior officer said. Police arrested the men for rioting in Nagaland state, but it was unclear if they were directly involved in killing Syed Farid Khan, whose body was then strung up to a clock tower. He had been accused of raping a 19-year-old tribal woman multiple times. Tensions have been rising in Dimapur since Khan was arrested on February 24 for the alleged rape.

So far we have arrested 18 people for rioting and unlawful assembly. We are now verifying if besides being part of the mob they were also directly involved in the lynching. We have already identified many more people [for arrest] from videos and photos [of the incident on social media].

Wabang Jamir, Inspector General of Police

Several thousand people overpowered security at the Dimapur Central Prison searching for Khan, whom the mob also believed was an illegal immigrant from Bangladesh. The Bengali-speaking Khan was stripped and paraded on the streets outside, while men armed with sticks beat him to death, according to local media. Hundreds of riot police have been patrolling the streets of Dimapur district since the incident, while Jamir said a curfew remained in place along with mobile phone and internet restrictions.

Dimapur Asia-Pacific