Taxi Driver Beaten To Death Outside Kamakhya Temple In Assam

A man was beaten to death outside the Kamakhya Temple in Assam's Guwahati, one of the most revered Shakti peethas in India, on Wednesday. 

The victim has been identified as Rupam Das, a taxi driver and a resident of Nilachal Hills, home of the ancient Kamakhya temple.

Police have arrested the accused, one Rahul Patak, a native of Barpeta in Assam and a resident of Nilachal hills near the Kamakhya locality.

The incident stemmed from an altercation between Rahul and Rupam at the Kamakhya Shamshan area on Wednesday. Rupam was resting near the Maa Manasha Hotel when Rahul walked in with a bamboo stick and charged at him.

Rahul thrashed Rupam with a bamboo stick, leaving him severely injured. Rupam died before reaching the hospital, police sources added.

"The victim was attacked with sticks and rods," a police official said.

According to the sources, Rahul is a drug addict and was loitering in the area at the time of the incident. 

The police suspect the two were under the influence of alcohol and had a fight. 

"We have arrested the accused and started our investigation. The exact motive behind the crime is not yet clear. We have started interrogation," a police official told NDTV.

The forensic team is collecting samples as part of the investigation.

The brutal attack recalls the incident of June 19, 2019, when a headless body of a woman was recovered from near the Kamakhya temple. The body was found on the stairs leading to the Jai Durga temple, one of many places of worship scattered around the Kamakhya temple on the Nilachal Hills.

The woman was identified as 64-year-old Shanti Shaw, who was killed with a machete. Later, police arrested five persons in connection with the case.