Lakhimpur: A BJP leader from Dhakuakhana in Lakhimpur, Assam was murdered on Saturday night.
The murder is alleged to have connections to recent reports of a scam in the Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM), leading to the arrest of PHE engineer Jayanta Goswami and the recovery of a huge amount of cash on May 14.
The charred body of Sunil Gogoi, alias Gutil, Secretary of Kishan Morcha of Dhakuakhana Mandal BJP, was found in an abandoned Sumoni (Muga silk host plantation) in Laokoth-Naharani Pathar, about two hundred meters away from his residence in Sapotia Chetiagaon under Dhakuakhana Police Station.
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The murder was gruesome, with the victim’s head severed from his body and missing, while the rest of the body was burnt.
The murder of the BJP leader has sensationalized the entire district, occurring in the wake of huge anomalies surfacing in the JJM works in the North Lakhimpur Circle of Public Health Engineering.
This led to the arrest of its Superintendent Engineer, Jayanta Goswami, by the Directorate of Vigilance & Anti-Corruption (DVAC), Assam, and the recovery of Rs. 79.87 lakhs in cash. Sunil Gogoi was also a JJM contractor.
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Speaking to the media today, the wife and son of Sunil Gogoi alleged that he was murdered because the PHE Superintendent Engineer was arrested based on his (Sunil’s) complaint.
Sunil Gogoi’s son said that his father had told him about threats to his life from some contractors following the arrest of engineer Jayanta Goswami.
Lakhimpur Superintendent of Police Aparna Natarajan visited the spot today where Sunil Gogoi’s body was found.
She stated that the body remains were sent for post-mortem and other materials were collected for forensic testing.
Meanwhile, Assam DGP GP Singh announced on his X handle the dispatch of a CID and forensic team led by IG-CID to Dhakuakhana for investigating the murder.