North Lakhimpur (Assam), Jun 3 (PTI) The police have called a top-level forensic expert from Gujarat and are forming a special investigation team (SIT) to probe into the murder of a contractor whose half-burnt body with the head missing was recovered in Assam’s Lakhimpur district, a senior officer said on Monday.
Local police, along with CID officials and forensic experts from Guwahati are investigating all aspects of the case, including the possible involvement of an engineer who was arrested on bribery charges following a complaint made by the victim, Director General of Police GP Singh said.
The body of Sunil Gogoi, a government contractor and local BJP leader, was found with the head missing and in a half-burnt condition in an open field near his residence in Dhakuakhana on Saturday evening.
Though the head was missing, the family members of Gogoi identified the body with the help of a t-shirt which was found lying near the torso.
“Such crimes have not happened in Assam before. It is a sensitive and important case. I had spoken to the chief minister about it yesterday and we have taken it very seriously,” the DGP told reporters after visiting the crime site.
He said the Lakhimpur superintendent of police has been instructed to form an SIT, drawing experts from various departments, to take forward the investigation.
“The state government has a top-level forensic advisor and he will be arriving from Gujarat on Tuesday. An IGP-level officer of CID and a forensic team from Guwahati are already here since Sunday,” he added.
The DGP said the local people suspect the involvement of a Public Health Engineering department engineer, who was arrested recently by the vigilance wing over a complaint of bribery brought by the victim.
“The engineer who is in jail in Guwahati now is being questioned and we are looking if there is any connection with him,” he said.
“If there is any other local angle involved, we are also looking for those,” Singh said, refusing to reveal if any arrests have been made in the case so far.
“Investigation is going on now. It may take two-three days to examine the technical evidence. We will crack the case soon,” the DGP added. PTI SSG COR SSG NN
This report is auto-generated from PTI news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content.