Tamulpur Youth Dies By Suicide Over Alleged Police Assault, Intimidation

After a youth's death by suicide in Assam's Tamulpur, the family has levelled allegations of torture, harassment and intimidation by the police. After repeated abuse over the last few days, the family found him hanging from a tree near his house.

According to the family, the victim was wrongly harassed by the police over a case not related to him. The matter pertains to a relative of Ratan Das, the victim’s father, from Ikrabil village in Tamulpur eloping with a minor girl from Haryana. Based on the complaint regarding the abduction of the minor, on September 13, a team of Haryana Police along with Tamulpur Police visited Ratan Das's residence to investigate the matter. However, before the police arrived, the young couple had already fled the house.

The police team visited the family again on September 14, but when they couldn't find the couple, they allegedly subjected Ratan Das's younger son, Manik Das, to physical harassment. As per allegations, the police took Manik to Nagrijuli Police Outpost, where he was further assaulted. Though the family managed to secure Manik's release on bail later that night, the police had instructed him to appear again at the outpost the next morning.

Tragically, despite being brought home at night, Manik was found dead the following morning, hanging from a tree near the house. His family was unaware of his actions, further sparking shock and grief among the family and villagers. The grieving family has accused the police of harassment and excessive force, which they believe pushed Manik to take this extreme step

“A young lad had eloped with a girl from Haryana and brought her here. The team of local police and Haryana police arrived at their residence and when they did not find the couple, they beat up their [Ratan’s] son instead. They asked about his guardians, and in their absence, they assaulted him and took him with them. Back at the police outpost, he was again assaulted. We went and got him back home at night,” a relative said.

She added, “The boy was sleeping with his mother when at around 1:30 am he said he was going to the toilet. When he did not return, the family went in search of him. As dawn broke, when the father found his slippers beneath a tree and looked up, he saw the youth hanging. The police assaulted and harassed him. They intimidated him saying that if he did not appear before the police, he would be incarcerated in Haryana. The boy was frightened and took the extreme step as a result.”

The tragic incident created a chaotic scene in the household on Sunday, with the family and local villagers expressing their outrage over the police's behavior. Local authorities, including the magistrate, the officer in charge of Tamulpur Police Station, arrived at the scene to bring the situation under control.

Meanwhile, no information has yet been found regarding the whereabouts of the young couple who fled from Haryana. The victim's family, demanding an investigation into the matter, has filed an FIR against the in-charge of Nagrizuli Police Outpost, Pranjal Baruah, and the two Haryana police officers involved in the case.

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