Guwahati, Jul 27 (PTI) The Congress on Sunday staged protests across Assam, demanding a CBI probe into the alleged suicide by an assistant engineer of the Public Works Department (PWD), who was purportedly under immense pressure from seniors to “overlook malpractices” in the construction of a mini-stadium in Bongaigaon.
Members of the opposition party held sit-ins and demonstrations in different parts of the state, raising demand for justice for the deceased’s family and a CBI enquiry into the incident.
In Guwahati, state Congress women’s wing president Mira Borthakur Goswami led the protest.
“We have a chief minister who stops his car even on the way to shake hands with children. But when a young woman employee of his department commits suicide, he doesn’t find the time to meet her family,” she said.
Referring to a purported note left by the assistant engineer, Goswami added, “It mentions of commission being paid, bills being inflated in the PWD. The CM says the police and the entire administration are his own. Now, let him use these for a thorough probe into his own department.” Another senior Congress leader Gopal Sarma also alleged that irregularities were reported not just in PWD, but across all departments.
“Corruption is rampant. We demand an investigation into all allegations of irregularities,” he said.
Protests were staged, as part of the state-wide programme, in Nagaon, Majuli, Morigaon, Hojai, Goalpara, Kamrup, Dhemaji, Dibrugarh, Tinsukia, Barpeta, Jorhat and Golaghat.
The assistant engineer, who hailed from Guwahati and was posted in Bongaigaon, was found dead at her flat on Tuesday.
An executive engineer of the PWD, a sub-divisional officer and a contractor have been arrested in the case so far for alleged abetment of suicide, police said.
A suicide note was found near the body, in which she purportedly wrote that the two officials put immense pressure on her regarding the construction of a mini-stadium in Bongaigaon.
She alleged that they had forced her to pass inflated bills submitted by the contractor, who has since been arrested.
The police are verifying the allegations in the note.
Leader of the opposition in the state Assembly and Congress MLA Debabrata Saikia wrote to the governor on Saturday, urging a probe by the CBI or another independent central agency into the incident. PTI SSG SSG BDC
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