‘Girls father not involved’

By Our Reporter

SHILLONG, JULY 10: The Thangkhiew Lai-Kpoh Clan today said the arrested family members of the minor girl, who was allegedly raped, are not in no way involved in lynching the accused to death.

Addressing newsmen here on Monday, Clan elder Livingstone Thangkhiew said, “They (family members) have no hand in lynching the accused to death and we have submitted a video taken during the incident – which clearly shows that he (accused) was alive when he was taken by the police from the house.”

Yaqub Khan Nongkynrih, who allegedly raped the 11-year-old girl, was lynched to death at a Nongkseh village in Upper Shillong on Saturday night. He later succumbed to his injuries at the Shillong Civil Hospital yesterday.

Police have arrested the girl’s father – who belonged to the Thangkhiew’s Clan and her brother for allegedly inciting the violent attack.

The incident took place after girl’s brother saw the lewd photographs of his sister in Yaqub’s smart phone in which he was immediately locked in his room. Yaqub was staying along with his wife as a tenant in the house of the girl.

The mob attack also went viral in the social media and Yaqub’s heavily injured body was seen to be carried by four police personnel. Angry women folks were also seen in the video as they beaten up the accused.

Livingstone said, “We do not know what happen after he (accused) was taken out of the rented house as there was already a mob of hundreds of people outside the house.”

Asked, he said that the incident of alleged rape might have happened a year ago, as per confession of the minor girl adding that medical report are still awaited.

On being informed by the brother of the girl about the photos, the family members had immediately informed the dorbar shnong, who inturn informed the Jhalupara police, he said.

Interestingly, one of the four policemen seen in the video clipping was finding it hard to control the angry ladies who keep on beating the accused with brooms.

Responding to a query, he said that in fact an FIR was also filed by the father of the girl on the same night and was accordingly received by the police. “However, later they (police) arrested the father and the brother girl,” he said.

Meanwhile, the clan also urged the authority concerned to allow the family members to give medicine to the father, who is suffering from blood pressure and liver problems.

“We have arrested the houseowner and father of the minor and her brother too for inciting the violent attack on the accused at Nongkseh locality in Upper Shillong area,” East Khasi Hills district SP Davis Marak said.