Assam engineer dies by suicide, says forced to clear inflated bills in note

A young assistant engineer with the Public Works Department (PWD) in Assam was found dead in her rented accomodation on Friday. A suicide note recovered by the police from the scene accused two senior officials of mental harassment.

The 30-year-old engineer, Joshita Das, was posted with the PWD department in Bongaigaon for nearly a year. She was found hanging in her room, and a handwritten suicide note was found nearby.

In the note, Joshita accused Sub-Divisional Officer (SDO) Aminul Islam and Executive Engineer Dinesh Medhi of persistent mental harassment that eventually drove her to take the extreme step.

BOTH ACCUSED ARRESTED

After a preliminary investigation, the Bongaigaon police arrested both the officials.

"We have arrested the two persons named in the suicide note. They have been sent to judicial custody. We have got permission to interrogate them and carry out our investigation," senior police officer Mohan Lal Meena said.

Meena said both the accused officials were transferred out of the district a month ago. While Aminul was sent to Kamrup, Dinesh was promoted and posted in Nalbari district.

Another official told PTI that the woman had alleged that the PWD officials forced her to pass inflated bills submitted by a contractor.

"She said in the note that the two arrested officials put immense pressure on her regarding the construction of a mini stadium in Bongaigaon," the official told PTI.

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