The main accused in the Vineet Bagaria suicide case, Sanjay Sharma, who was evading arrest, finally surrendered before the Chief Judicial Magistrate (CJM) court in Assam’s Dibrugarh on Monday.
The development came more than three weeks after the suicide case rocked this upper Assam town, compelling the chief minister of Assam to tender an apology to the grief-stricken family, and action against concerned police officials for their inaction.
Vineet, 32, allegedly hanged himself at his Shani Mandir residence, almost a week after he filed a written police complaint against the culprits, which the police did not register. A day later, the victim’s father sent a Whatsapp message to the deputy commissioner and superintendent of police in Dibrugarh, seeking police protection for his family, sharing recording of the threats. Even that did not help to draw the attention of state machinery.
According to sources, in a sudden development, accused Sharma, who was named as the main culprit in the purported video shot by the victim before his death, appeared before the CJM court on Monday. “The court of CJM has sent Sharma to judicial custody.”
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“Sharma was evading arrest for quite a long time until he surrendered before the court,” a source said, adding, “The constant pressure put by police on the family members of the accused compelled him to surrender.”
The Dibrugarh police had arrested three accused – Nishant Sharma, Baidullah Khan and Samsullah Khan – in connection with the suicide case within 72 hours of the incident and demolished the residence of Baidullah Khan on the grounds that it was constructed without valid permissions.
Earlier, father of the deceased, Kailash Bagaria said, “In my eye, the bigger culprits are Dibrugarh police station OC, superintendent of police and deputy commissioner of Dibrugarh. The transfer of OC is a mere eyewash. Had they acted on time and did their duty honestly, Vineet would have been with us today.”
Calls made to superintendent of Dibrugarh police Shwetank Mishra were not returned.
Also read | Vineet Bagaria suicide: Baidullah Khan’s sister held on extortion charge
