North Lakhimpur: Police on Monday detained five friends of a college student who died under unclear circumstances during a picnic at the Sesa River, near the Assam-Arunachal Pradesh border, even as villagers staged a protest demanding a thorough investigation into the death.
The deceased was identified as Nilutpal Mili, a first-semester BA student of Bihpuria College and a resident of Miri Gaon in Bangalmora. According to police, Mili had travelled to the Sesa River on Sunday along with five friends — Pranjal Debnath, Arian Debnath, Sumit Das, Dibyajyoti Bora and Biswajit Bora, on two-wheelers. His companions brought him to the Bangalmora Police Outpost later that night, where he was declared brought dead, police said.
Family members alleged that police sent Mili’s body for post-mortem examination to Lakhimpur Medical College and Hospital without informing them.
The death triggered a demonstration on Monday, with a large number of residents from Mili’s village gathering outside the Bangalmora Police Outpost. The protesters demanded stringent action and accused police of failing to act promptly.
As part of the probe, Lakhimpur Police detained all five of Mili’s companions for questioning and took them to the Sesa River site, located inside Arunachal Pradesh, to reconstruct the sequence of events leading to his death. Police said the cause of death has not yet been ascertained and that the investigation is underway, with the post-mortem report expected to be crucial in establishing the circumstances of the case.
No arrests have been made so far.