Tripura school teacher dies in mob assault, key accused arrested

Tripura Police arrested the main accused and were looking for three others for lynching a government school teacher over a WhatsApp text that was allegedly ‘misinterpreted’ by the family members of a girl student, police said on Monday.

A police official said the police arrested Jayanta Saha late on Sunday night and were looking for the three other accused, including the girl’s father, in connection with hacking to the death of government school teacher Abhijit Dey, 40, last week at Udaipur in Gomati district.

Dey, a government school teacher, used to teach a girl student in Class 8 at her home.

On August 8, the girl asked the teacher to translate an English word, he replied to the meaning of the particular word through WhatsApp chat and it was ‘misinterpreted’ by the girl and her parents, Dey’s wife said.

Later, the girl student’s father Shambu Karmakar  (Prime accused in the sensational lynching incident) called Dey and his wife at their house. Dey was severely thrashed by the girl's father and his associates. They also assaulted the teacher’s wife.

Police went to the spot and rescued Dey and then took him to Gomati district hospital for medical treatment.

The victim’s wife, who later filed a case with the police against four individuals, said that after the assault, the girl student’s family members filed a case against the teacher at the Udaipur Women’s Police Station with “false accusation”.

Subsequently, the teacher was arrested and produced in a local court, where he fell ill and started vomiting blood following which he was again taken to the district hospital. He was then referred to the Government Govind Ballabh Pant Medical College and Hospital in Agartala, where he succumbed to his injuries on Saturday.

In protest against the incident, teachers and students organised a protest rally, carrying the body of the slain teacher on Sunday.

State Finance Minister Pranajit Singha Roy, who hails from the area, visited the bereaved family on Sunday and strongly condemned the incident and also assured action against the perpetrators.

“Nobody should take the law into their own hands. Chief Minister Manik Saha also learnt of the horrific incident. The police would take appropriate action against those involved in the lynching,” the Minister told the media on Monday.

The family of the deceased teacher also accused the police of delaying medical treatment.