Twist in school teacher’s murder, son arrested for hatching conspiracy

From a Correspondent

JORHAT, January 20: Three months after the gruesome killing of school teacher Dijen Gogoi (45), the Jorhat police on Tuesday arrested the eldest son of the murdered teacher, identified as Saurav Pran Gogoi, and another advocate of the Jorhat Bar Association, identified as Gautam Saikia on charges of hatching a crimil conspiracy to murder the teacher in a bid to benefit from insurance claim and profit from selling a property in gaon. The arrest has created sensation in the city.

Addressing media persons, Superintendent of Police Amanjeet Kaur said, “During our investigation we found that Saurav Pran Gogoi, the eldest son of the deceased school teacher Dijen Gogoi who was shot dead at point blank range during school hours on October 20 last year, had planned the whole murder very meticulously with the help of his friend advocate Gautam Saikia of Jorhat Bar and the duo hired two contract killers, Babul Lahon and Bubu Konwor to execute the killing. We have arrested all the three and the advocate has already confessed to his involvement in the case and described about paying the hired killers Bubu and Babul in different installments of Rs 70,000 on September 21 and Rs 1 lakh on September 24 last year at Sitoli in the Chenijaan area under Lahdoigarh police outpost. The entire contract was of Rs 2,35,000 and initially the crimils had planned an accidental killing which would have helped the son claim MACT (Motor Accident Claim Tribul) because Dijen Gogoi was a government employee, but later they changed their plan to a point blank range firing. The fourth killer Bubu Konwor is lodged at the Sibsagar Jail and we will soon interrogate him after taking him into custody through a production bail.”

The SP further added, “The motive behind the gruesome killing was profit arising out of a property in gaon valued at several lakhs of rupees. The deceased was the caretaker of the property belonging to his sister who had expired recently and was protecting the right of a minor who was the legal heir of the said property. The killers thought of elimiting the guardian of the property after which through legal proceeding they could have grabbed the land from the minor and ultimately extract benefit. And accordingly on October 20 both the killers went to the school on a bike rode by Babul Lahon and it was Bubu Konwor who shot dead the teacher in Nimagarh Primary School at Lichubari, Jorhat.”

The police has sought a remand of 14 days for all the accused from the CJM (Chief Judicial Magistrate) court in the case no 1907/14 U/S 302 IPC, RW 25 (1a)/27 Arms Act for further interrogation. Meanwhile, police sources have disclosed about picking both the sons of the deceased from their Mahut Gaon residence but the role or involvement of the second son if any is yet to be ascertained. The eldest son was working as an insurance agent with Hinduja Insurance Company in Jorhat and had ample knowledge about insurance and the benefit claims.

 Representatives of various organizations, including Lower Primary Teachers’ Association, have lauded the efforts taken by the Jorhat police in bbing the culprits and expressed shock at the involvement of the son who got his father murdered.