Source: Hueiyen News Service / Newmai News Network
Guwahati, March 22 2010:
A man identified as one Mridul Kumar Bhattacharjee, a tea planter shot dead a14-year-old class-VIII student Pradeep Murali and injured four others in an incident that sparked off after the former had "physically abused" a tribal woman at his tea estate on the outskirts of Guwahati on Monday, official sources said.
The sources said the incident occurred at Rani Tea Estate on Monday morning when the woman was taking a short cut through the garden to go to another village.
The villagers alleged that as soon as tea planter Mridul Kumar spotted the woman in his garden, he pounced upon her, beating her up and then tearing her clothes.
After learning about the incident, a large number of people, mostly garden workers, soon swelled at the scene and tried to attack the planter but he took out a licensed gun and fired at the mob, killing 14-year-old class-VIII student Pradeep on the spot and injuring four others, including a woman.
Subsequently, the mob set ablaze two factories, several offices and vehicles of the garden.
They also stopped fire tenders from arriving at the spot by squatting on the road.
The police resorted to lathicharge and fired teargas shells to disperse the mob.
Later on,the planter was arrested by the police.