Meghalaya mob lynches 4 jail escapees

One of them was accused of killing two drivers in the State’s West Jaintia Hills

A mob in Meghalaya on Sunday lynched four of six persons who had escaped from a district jail less than 24 hours before after attacking and overpowering the guards.

The four were beaten to death with iron rods and sticks at Shangpung in West Jaintia Hills district, about 20 km from the jail located in district headquarters Jowai.

The district’s Deputy Commissioner, Batlang S. Sohliya confirmed the death of the four jail escapees but said the details were awaited. “Their bodies are being brought to the Jowai Civil Hospital for post mortem and identification,” he said.

But local police officials said one of the persons lynched was I Love You Talang who had been arrested along with Ramesh Dkhar for allegedly killing two taxi drivers.

Dkhar was among the six who escaped on Saturday. His fate was not know.

“Five of the six who escaped had gone in the direction of Shangpung while the sixth took a different route. The villagers pounced upon the five as soon as they spotted them,” a police official handling the case said.

He said it was not clear if the fifth person in the group managed to escape from the mob or was lying somewhere injured or dead.