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EAST KAMENG, JUNE 5: In a major breakthrough, East Kameng district police have arrested six people in the gruesome revenge killing of a man whose body was found mutilated near the Pachi River in December 2024. The authorities have termed the case as a seriously disturbing case of retaliatory violence, highlighting the serious pitfalls of taking recourse to law outside legal procedures.
The case was reported on December 15, 2024, when Kapu Dada villagers filed an FIR because their father did not come back home from his farm. One day later, his naked and mutilated body—multiple deep machete (dao) wounds on the head, back, and neck—was found at the site of the Pachi River. A criminal case (PS Chayang Tajo Case No. 06/24) was immediately registered under BNS sections 103(2), 238(a), and 61(2).
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As the crime scene was around 45 km from Seppa and there were no eyewitnesses, a Special Investigation Team (SIT) was formed under the charge of SP Kamdam Sikom. The officers, under DySP (HQ) Mibom Yirang and assisted by district police officers, utilized sophisticated technical analysis. Coordination with Police Headquarters in Itanagar helped them track an unknown mobile number that was active around the scene on December 13, which finally connected all six suspects to the crime.
In spite of the suspects’ initial attempts to flee arrest—fleeing the state and making several bail applications—the accused were eventually located and arrested within months. They were Kaller @Sambo Jelly Lamgu, Ashing Lamgu, Tabing Lamgu, Tungdang Lamgu, Rasam Lamgu, and Tungri Lamgu. Persistent anticipatory bail requests were denied by both the Hon’ble Gauhati High Court, Permanent Bench at Itanagar, and the Hon’ble Supreme Court, which also rejected a Special Leave Petition (SLP) submitted by one of the accused.
After the arrests and surrenders, all six were apprehended. Police have also submitted both the primary and additional charge sheets within the time stipulated by law. The accused are now in judicial custody, pending trial.
The investigators showed that revenge was the motive for the killing. The late Takom Dada, in early December 2024, had been arrested and subsequently released on bail after he allegedly attacked Longya Lamgu with a machete over a mithun (Bos frontalis) ownership dispute. Lamgu later succumbed to injury, and his relatives planned and executed Dada’s killing while he was still out on bail.
Denouncing the act of revenge killing, East Kameng Police have called on the public to settle disputes through legal means. SP Kamdam Sikom underscored the importance of trusting the justice system and appealed for assistance from the public in helping maintain peace and order.
“This case is a poignant reminder that vengeance only saddens more and undermines the social order. Justice has to be sought through legal channels,” SP Sikom said.
