Varanasi:
Two weeks after he was filmed as he led a mob of 50 in molesting a young woman in Guwahati, Amar Jyoti Kalita has been found in Varanasi, the Deputy Inspector General of Varanasi Police has said. Local police officers say he was vague when answering questions put to him. The police from Assam is also travelling to Varanasi to identify him.
Earlier yesterday, the Guwahati police said Kalita had been spotted near Kolkata. They said his photo would be flashed on local channels, with offers of a reward for information that could help locate him.
In a video aired by a news channel in Guwahati on July 9, Kalita was seen in a red t-shirt, trying to rip off the shirt of a young woman who had just walked out of a pub with her friends. The camera did not seem to bother Kalita - he smiled as he led a group of men who fell upon the victim, dragging her back when she managed to run a few feet in a futile attempt to flag passing cars for help.
The Assam chief minister said last week that Kalita had been spotted in Mumbai and that the police was tracking him. Gaurav Jyoti Neog, a reporter from the channel that filmed the molestation in Guwahati, was arrested last week. He is a close friend of Kalita's, according to the police. They also say he incited the mob to attack the victim.
The public assault was filmed by another reporter from the channel that Mr Neog worked for at the time. NewsLive says when its reporters realized they could not fight the mob to rescue the girl, they decided that filming the incident would help provide evidence that would nail the accused.
Kalita refers to himself as James Bond in his Facebook profile; his photo there shows him wearing the same red shirt.