Assam: Woman dies of 'drug overdose' in Silapathar; family alleges foul play

Guwahati: Seven days after the death of a woman allegedly due to drug overdose in Silapathar in Assam’s Dhemaji district, a youth was arrested on Wednesday.

The victim, 23-year-old Taniya Regon from Akajan village, allegedly died due to drug overdose on July 8. However, even after seven days, the post-mortem report is yet to be made public. The family members have alleged foul play in the entire incident.

According to reports, Regon received a call from her friend, Borun Pegu, around 6 pm on July 8. The call was allegedly made for an invitation to a party, as per a close member of the family of the victim.

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“Regon was with Borun Pegu, Rahul Doley and Sachin Pait and around 9 pm, Regon’s sister received a call from Pegu’s number and she spoke with Regon for about an hour,” said the family member, who did not wish to be named.

She added that after the call, Pegu took over and assured the sister that he would drop Regon safely at her house. However, the sister did not know that it would be the last time she would hear from her.

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“Regon did not return on July 8 and around 2.30 am the next day, we received a call from the Khanamukh Hospital to claim the dead body of a woman,” the family member said.

Suspecting foul play, the family members lodged an FIR in the Silapathar police station. “However, it’s been seven days now and no updates have been made or even given to the family members,” she added.

She also said that the prime accused, Borun Pegu, who is a healthcare worker was given COVID-19 duty on July 11. The other two accused are yet to be apprehended, she said.

“Even the post-mortem report has not been released and it’s over seven days now,” she said. She added that the victim’s family is apprehensive of the report, as it might be fabricated given the fact that the prime accused is a medical worker himself and allegedly has “high political connections”.

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EastMojo reached out to Silapathar police station officer-in-charge (OC) Ganesh Barman, who is looking into the matter. “We were able to apprehend Rahul Doley just sometime ago. We are investigating into the matter as of now.”

When asked why the post-mortem report is yet to be released, Barman said that it’s up to the hospital authority and that the police have no say in the matter. “As for the COVID-19 duty, the notice was already given by the government and, moreover, Pegu treats COVID-19 positive patients. So, even if we bring him here, he needs to undergo seven-day mandatory quarantine along with swab test. It is for this reason that the investigation is taking some time,” Barman added.

He assured that measures have already been taken over the arrests and the subsequent investigation. Since it’s still an ongoing investigation, Barman refused to give any further information.

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