Mizoram: Seven Arrested for Lynching a Youth Accused of Theft
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Aizawl, Dec 25 (NationPress) Mizoram Police have taken into custody seven members of a Village Defence Party (VDP) related to the homicide of a 31-year-old man near Aizawl due to suspicions of theft, officials disclosed on Wednesday.
A police spokesperson revealed that two VDP members were arrested on Sunday, with five additional suspects apprehended from various locations over the following three days.
The police have initiated a case of culpable homicide under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) following a report filed by the victim's mother, Nunthangmawii.
According to police reports, David Lalmuanpuia, a daily wage laborer from the Tuirial Airfield area on the outskirts of Aizawl, along with his friend Lalduhsaka, aged 20, were allegedly assaulted by VDP members after a pastor accused them of stealing Rs 26,000 from the quarters while he was attending church on December 18.
Nunthangmawii claimed that the VDP members forcibly took her son from their home on the night of December 18 following the pastor's complaint.
She asserted that her son was interrogated for several hours and was brutally beaten, resulting in his death.
"I begged the VDP members and the pastor to intervene, but they ignored me," the victim's mother recounted to the police and media.
After extensive questioning and abuse, Lalmuanpuia was discovered unconscious in the VDP room and was transported to a hospital in Aizawl late on December 18.
According to Nunthangmawii, her son died from his injuries in the early morning hours of December 19.
She noted that although her son occasionally used drugs, he was not involved in the theft, as he was at home during the time of the incident.
Expressing his sorrow over the death of the young man, Union Home Minister K. Sapdanga urged community members to refrain from taking the law into their own hands and to operate within legal boundaries.
The incident has stirred public outrage in the state, with many calling for severe penalties for the lynching and criticizing the pastor for allegedly not responding to the victim's mother's cries for help.
Meanwhile, the Centre for Environment and Social Justice (CESJ), led by social activist Vanramchhuangi, has called upon the state government to take decisive action against the accused.
The CESJ stated that if the government does not act swiftly, it will appeal to the National Human Rights Commission for justice for the victim.
It also requested amendments to the Mizoram Police Act, 2011, under which the VDP was established, to prevent community policing from operating outside legal parameters.
