Murder of IAF officer's maid rocks Jorhat

From a Correspondent

JORHAT, April 23: A gruesome murder has created sensation in the resident quarters of the Indian Air Force Jorhat Station on Thursday following the recovery of the body of a young woman in her 20s, later identified as Moonmoon Saikia, lying in a pool of blood with deep cut marks in her neck at quarter no 335/3 belonging to an Indian Army officer, Lieutent Colonel Surav Sood attached to the Indian Air Force Hospital at Rowriah, Jorhat.

Moonmoon Saikia was working as a domestic help in the quarter of the Lt Colonel Sood. While the officer and his family reside in the top floor of the quarter, Moonmoon resided in the servant room on the ground floor. A police team under Deputy Superintendent of Police Pallav Tamuly and officer-in-charge of the Rowriah Outpost broke open the door of the servant room locked from outside and found the body. Initial investigation and inquest in the presence of District Magistrate Utpal Doley confirmed the woman to have been brutally murdered by first suffocating her and later cutting her throat with sharp weapons. Neighbours had complained of a foul smell coming out from the room.  Though the police is yet to trace the murder weapon, they have recovered a piece of a boot worn by defense personnel from near the body, besides a few copies of children’s text books.

Talking to The Sentinel, OC Rowriah said, “We were tipped off about a possible murder of a person and that pungent smell was coming from the room at Quarter No 335/3 and it was only when we broke the lock that we recovered the body of the woman. Moonmoon Saikia was a widow and the mother of two children and hailed from the Nogabaat area under Panikhatti Outpost of Borholla Police Station. She was working as a maid in the house of the Lt Colonel but the me plate at the top floor indicated the house belonging to a Captain. Our investigation is on and we are waiting for Saurav Sood who is already on a flight back to Jorhat as informed by the Air Force people.”

Meanwhile, Air Forces sources have confirmed that Lt Colonel Saurav Sood works for the Indian Army, attached to the Jorhat wing of the Air Force Base Hospital at Rowriah and that he had flown to Kolkata on April 19. He was scheduled to join the Kolkata based Air Force Hospital on April 20.

However, locals in and around the Air Force residential quarters have raised doubts regarding the gruesome murder. After witnessing the bulging stomach of the deceased many have raised doubt about the victim being pregnt at the time of the murder. District Magistrate Utpal Doley said, “This can be ascertained only after postmortem.”

In the meantime, many have ruled out the involvement of an outsider in the murder because the area is highly protected, prohibiting entry of non-defense personnel without verification and scrutiny.