GUWAHATI, Dec 1 - The Nagaon Sessions Court today framed charges against the accused in the infamous Dokmoka mob lynching incident in which two youths from Guwahati � Nilotpal Das and Abhijeet Nath � were beaten to death.
Charges have been framed under Sections 302, 147, 149 and other Sections of the IPC against the 47 accused who were produced in the court by police today.
All the accused pleaded �not guilty� to the charges which were read out to them. The next date for taking evidence is January 5. Arguments on framing of charges in the case were heard by the court on an earlier occasion and today the verdict was delivered.
Lengthy arguments took place today on an application filed on behalf of the accused on the issue of handcuffing them while being produced in the court. The court will pronounce its ruling on the application on the date fixed for evidence.
The victims� families were represented by advocate Bijon Kumar Mahajan, while the State of Assam was represented by special public prosecutor Jiaul Kamar.
Police had filed a 46-page charge-sheet with the Court of Chief Judicial Magistrate at Diphu against 48 accused on September 1 last. The case was shifted to the Nagaon Sessions Court by the Gauhati High Court keeping in view the safety of all concerned, including the witnesses. One of the accused is a juvenile and his trail will be in a juvenile court.
Nilotpal, an audio engineer by profession, along with businessman friend Abhijeet, were lynched by an unruly mob on June 8 in Panjuri Kachari village under Dokmoka Police Station in Karbi Anglong district, where they had gone there for sight-seeing.
Both Nilotpal and Abhijeet were allegedly mistaken for child-lifters after WhatsApp messages cautioning people to be aware of child-lifters went viral in Karbi Anglong district.
