Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami on Saturday directed the state DGP to conduct a thorough investigation into the death of an Assamese woman, Rosmita Hojai, in Uttarakhand after his Assam counterpart, Himanta Biswa Sarma, wrote to him.
The Uttarakhand police had held that the death appeared to be a case of suicide. Hojai (25) from Assam’s Dima Hasao district had been found dead on the banks of the Ganga river in Rishikesh on Tuesday, five days after she was reported missing on June 6.
According to her family, she had travelled to to appear for a Railway Recruitment Board (RRB) examination, after which she travelled to Rishikesh with two individuals.
Sub-inspector Yogesh Pandey, SHO of Muni ki Raiti police station where the body was found, said the post-mortem report stated the cause of death to be due to drowning and no external injuries were found.
“The woman was preparing for a competitive exam and had performed poorly. Her two friends who accompanied her to Rishikesh said she was distressed. We checked this with her family, and it seemed true. Prima facie, it’s a case of suicide. However, if we are asked to re-investigate, we will conduct a probe again,” Pandey said.
On Tuesday, Sarma wrote to Dhami requesting the case be examined further, expressing concerns about possible foul play.
“In view of the gravity of the matter and the deep anguish being experienced by her family, I request your kind intervention to ensure that the matter is investigated in a comprehensive and time-bound manner, examining all possible angles. If any criminal involvement is found, I urge that the responsible individuals be identified, apprehended and prosecuted in accordance with the law, so that justice is delivered,” he wrote.
