GUWAHATI: Thirty-six hours have elapsed since a mob in BJP-ruled Tripura lynched three suspected cattle lifters but the police are still clueless on the identity of the assailants.

The incident had occurred in Khowai district in the early hours of Sunday. The police said people were not coming forward to give a statement on the incident. “We don’t know who actually did it. Nobody is coming forward to give a statement,” district Superintendent of Police, Kiran Kumar told The New Indian Express.

He said 15 to 20 people were involved in the incident. An investigation revealed the victims had stolen the cattle, the SP added. The police had seized a mini-truck and five cattle from near the site of the incident.

Royal scion and former Tripura Congress president Pradyot Bikram Manikya Debbarma tweeted: “Anyone who takes law in the hands should be punished! We live in a lawful society and the public murder of the 3 people irrespective of the alleged crime is unacceptable. If they were guilty it was the responsibility of the police to arrest them not the mob to lynch them #Tripura.”

The victims, Billal Mia (30), Joyed Hussain (28), and Saiful Islam (18) were ferrying the cattle in the mini-truck when it met with an accident. Soon, a group of villagers took their custody and started beating them up mercilessly. One of them died on the spot while the two others, who were grievously injured, succumbed to their injuries at a hospital.