One summer afternoon in 2018, two men set out on a road trip into the Karbi Anglong region of India's northeastern Assam state. They never came back.
Abhijeet Nath, a 30-year-old businessman, and Nilotpal Das, a 29-year-old musician, were driving from the city of Guwahati. By evening, their journey had taken them to a village, where they were surrounded by a mob that suspected them of being child kidnappers and beaten to death.
The case drew national attention - not only for its brutality, but because it reflected a wider pattern of violence emerging at the time. Across parts of India, rumors about child-abduction gangs were spreading rapidly through WhatsApp messages and viral videos, fueling suspicion of strangers and, in some cases, mob attacks.
Nearly eight years later, the lynching is back in the headlines after a court in Assam convicted 20 people, finding them guilty of murder and participation in an unlawful assembly, while acquitting 25 others for lack of evidence beyond reasonable doubt. It will announce the quantum of punishment on Friday.
According to witnesses, a hue and cry drew villagers to the spot where Nath and Das were being held. The court records a crowd of around 150-200 people, with at least 50 directly participating in the attack using sticks and other weapons, which led to the deaths.
The victims' families express dissatisfaction with the rulings, indicating that acquittals of more than half of the accused do not meet their expectations for justice. The brutal slaying of the two men has spotlighted the dangers of unchecked rumors in the digital age, prompting renewed discussions on misinformation and the need for accountability in tackling mob violence.
