Police shroud cause of death: Women body

Investigation into death of Aruchali girl Liter Bagra

By our Staff Reporter

GUWAHATI, July 11: The parents of Liter Bagra and a women society have alleged that by not allowing Liter’s parents to remove the shroud covering her body to identify it the police shrouded the mystery leading to her death.

Liter Bagra was alleged to have committed suicide by hanging in the rented house of her classmate Sharon Shinglong on June 14 this year at Beltola in the city. Both Sharon and Liter had their CBSE Class X examition over and were staying along with the former’s mother and brother in a rented at Beltola Tiniali in the city. The owner the house is Rajen Gupta.

Addressing the media at Guwahati Press Club on Tuesday, Bengia Dipti Tadar, president of the Aruchal Pradesh Women Welfare Society, said: “Liter’s mother came to Guwahati to take her daughter from the hostel after the examition. However, Sharon, who was staying with Liter in the Hostel, requested Liter’s mother to leave behind her daughter with her. Sharon and Liter were to stay with the former’s family staying in Guwahati. However, Liter’s mother refused to leave her daughter behind. Sharon had to make her mother request Liter’s mother to leave Liter behind with them on the ground that since Sharon lost her father a month back she would feel cozy to be with Liter in the house. Liter’s mother succumbed to the request and left behind her daughter with Sharon’s family. She, however, asked her daughter to call her as and when she would like.”

Tadar said: “At 11 am on June 14 this year, Toli Bagra received a call from Liter. She told her father to book a ticket for Aruchal Pradesh on that very day as she wanted to go home. Soon Toli booked a bust ticket and telephoned Sharon to let Liter know the bus and ticket number. Nobody received the call first. In the second call a lady received it and let told Toli ‘your daughter is no more. She is dead by hanging herself’. This led the family members of Liter rush to Guwahati. However, the police didn’t allow them to identify the body. They directly sent the body for the post-mortem. The parents then requested the doctors to let them identify the body. The doctors showed them only the face by removing the shroud a little.”

Tadar further said that the parents of Liter had not been satisfied with what the police personnel had done. “On June 15 this year, Liter’s parents lodged an FIR at Bashishta police station. Strangely, the police didn’t register the FIR and that led the parents to lodge another FIR on June 21. The police registered a case based on the second FIR.”  

Now the parents of Liter and the Women Society alleged that it had been a planned murder.  Tadar said: “By not allowing Liter’s parents to identify the body the police shrouded the cause leading to Liter’s death.”

The fil post-mortem report is still awaited.

Tadar said that they had met Chief Minister Sarbanda Sonowal in this regard on Monday. “He assured us of ensuring proper inquiry into the death,” Tadar said. Meanwhile, the police maintain that it is a suicide case.