Questions raised

Jamal Uddin Khan, the brother of the man lynched in Nagaland's Dimapur on Thursday, has claimed that medical reports have shown that the woman who had filed a rape complaint against his brother had not been sexually assaulted. Speaking to NDTV, he alleged that his brother, Syed Sarif Uddin Khan, had been made a scapegoat and framed by Naga groups, and claimed that the police were hand in glove in the incident.

A number of questions have been raised over the events leading to the lynching. These include questions over the unavailability of a medical report to confirm the rape of the Naga woman, for which Syed Sarif Uddin Khan had been charged. Other questions surround to the Nagaland police not confirming the whereabouts of the alleged rape victim and why police had initially claimed that Syed Sarif Uddin Khan was an illegal Bangladeshi immigrant.

Naga civil society groups have condemned the lynching. They also attacked both the Centre and state governments, alleging that they were apathetic to their growing concerns over illegal migrants in the region. They also said they still suspect that Syed Sarif Uddin Khan was an illegal immigrant.