[IRISHTIMES] A curfew was imposed yesterday in a small town in India's northeastern Nagaland state, bordering Myanmar, after a mob stormed a prison, dragged away an alleged rapist and publicly lynched him.Police said more than 4,000 people overpowered guards at the Dimapur jail more than 2,000km from New Delhi early on Thursday afternoon and seized Farid Khan (35), locked away
You have the right to remain silent...
for allegedly raping a local college girl on February 24th.
The mob stripped the immigrant from neighbouring Bangladesh and dragged him 7km through the streets to the town's landmark clock tower. Having beaten him along the way, they then hung his body from the tower.
When police later tried to remove the body, the crowd pelted them with stones and burnt some of their vehicles.
Burning shops
The crowd then retreated to a nearby market place and set about burning shops and houses belonging to Bangladeshi immigrant traders, many of whom had settled illegally in Dimapur decades earlier.
There is an enduring animosity against these migrants, who locals blame not only for taking away jobs and appropriating land, but accuse of cornering all trading activity.
"The situation is tense and we are making all-out efforts to restore normality," Dimapur magistrate Wezope Kenye said.
"We have clamped a curfew in Dimapur district to contain the law and order situation following the unfortunate incident," he said.
The police, he added, had used tear gas to try to prevent the mob from storming the jail, but failed to do so.
Nagaland chief minister TR Zeiling appealed to all media organizations to refrain from using images of the lynching, in a bid to "mitigate" the possible ramifications of the incident and bring about calm.
The largely tribal "Nagas" -- as the state's people are called -- are an intensely proud people and fiercely protective of women.