Guwahati: While the operations against the United Liberation Front of Asom-Independent (ULFA-I) continue in Assam, a 24-year-old youth from Titabor in Jorhat allegedly died by suicide after he was allegedly harassed by police for his alleged links with the proscribed outfit.
The family members of youth said he had been picked up multiple times by the police for questioning in the past few days.
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The deceased identified as Dipankar Gogoi was suspected of being involved with the ULFA-I by the police.
He was among those questioned by police in connection with the recent grenade explosion near the Lichubari Military camp in Jorhat on December 14.
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The youth had denied having any connection to the incident or the ULFA-I as a whole, his family said.
However, a police source said that the youth had joined the ULFA-I briefly a few years ago.
Raising concerns about police conduct, the mother of the deceased claimed her son was subjected to mentally and physically abusive questioning following the December 14 incident.
Following the December 14 explosion, the police visited the deceased’s residence for questioning, said Gogoi’s mother. She also stated that officers seized several items, including passbooks, SIM cards, and a pair of shoes.
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With him being regularly questioned, he as per the family “broke down” and hence earlier on Tuesday, he decided to end his life.
Gogoi’s body was found in the vicinity of his residence, in an outdoor area, hanging from a tree.
The police were immediately informed and they initiated another investigation.
Gogoi’s family further alleged that he was being questioned by high-ranking officials and not the local police. However, he was summoned through the local police at very late hours.
They also claimed that Gogoi had been disturbed mentally after every other “interrogation”.
Assam DGP GP Singh reacting to the incident said that an enquiry has been ordered by Assam Police headquarters to be conducted by IGP Eastern Range into the incident.
The enquiry will include the procedural part, analysing the CCTV footage of the police station, contents of the report of medical examination at the time of release after questioning etc.
He added, “Assam Police remains committed to follow procedures as laid down in law while taking action against criminal and terrorist activities.”
It may be mentioned that in the past few days, there have been several reports of a sudden rise in the ULFA-I activities in Assam.
They had allegedly triggered at least two explosions in Upper Assam prompting the police to initiate a statewide operation.
Till Tuesday, at least four people were injured in police firing. All of them, as per the police were allegedly linked to the ULFA-I.
However, the family members of the youths rejected police version. The ULFA-I also claimed that the injured youth had no connections with the outfit.