DIBRUGARH: The Assam Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) working president Rana Goswami held the Dibrugarh administration responsible for the suicide of wildlife activist Vineet Bagaria.
Addressing a press conference here, Rana Goswami said, “The Dibrugarh police was also equally responsible for the suicide of Vineet Bagaria. The family members of Vinnet Bagaria repeatedly informed the police that they were being threatened but still the police didn’t take any action against Sanjay Sharma, Baidullah Khan, Nishant Sharma and Izaz Khan. Had the police taken action against them at the right time then, we have not lost Vineet”.
“The home department and police were equally responsible for the suicide of Vineet. Vineet’s father Kailash Bagaria filed an FIR against Sanjay Sharma, Baidullah Khan, Nishant Sharma and Izaz Khan but Dibrugarh police didn’t register the case. It is a big lapse on the part of Dibrugarh police,” Goswami said.
Goswami also slammed Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma for dividing criminals in the name of religion.
“A Criminal is criminal before the law, but chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma taking the name of only Baidullah Khan. CM Sarma didn’t utter the name of the main accused Sanjay Sharma whereas Vinnet before his death, done a video on his mobile phone where he named Sanjay Sharma as the mastermind of the incident,” Goswami added.
“We strongly condemn such polarization politics and demand that all the accused be booked as per law,” he said.
32-year-old Vineet Bagaria who was the co-founder of Animal Welfare People, an NGO for stray and abandoned animals, committed suicide by hanging himself on July 7 at his Shani Mandir road residence in Dibrugarh town.
Vineet’s father Kailash Bagaria, who is a chartered accountant, revealed that he had leased out a shop on the ground floor of his residence to Sanjay Sharma 15 years ago.
Sharma later sub-let the shop to Baidullah Khan who opened a motorcycle repairing shop without his permission.
The Bagaria family has been trying to evict the property for the last several years but the accused has refused to vacate the place.
Baidullah Khan and Nishant Sharma were arrested from the Lumding Railway Station while trying to flee. Another accused in the case Samsullah Khan was also arrested. All of them were sent to judicial custody.
Two other accused Sanjay Sharma and Izaz Khan still are still absconding.