Guwahati: Two senior Public Works Department (PWD) officials have been arrested in Assam‘s Bongaigaon district on charges of mentally harassing a junior engineer who later died by suicide.
The victim, identified as Joshita Das, served as a Junior Engineer with the PWD (Housing) division. She had been posted in the Bongaigaon area for nearly a year.
Her body was recovered from her rented accommodation at Barpara on Monday.
Police also recovered a suicide note that directly accused two senior PWD officials, former Executive Engineer Dinesh Sharma Medhi and former Sub-Divisional Officer Aminul Islam, of subjecting her to continuous mental harassment.
According to the note, Joshita had been pressured relentlessly to clear a pending contractor’s bill despite glaring procedural discrepancies.
She detailed how both officials allegedly forced her to approve financial documents tied to the “MIN Stadium at Borsojgaon under Gossaigaon LAC” project, executed in consultation with M/s Achetic Creations. The project reportedly lacked essential architectural plans and critical records.
She also revealed that the contractor, Rudra Pathak, had not appointed a site engineer, leaving her to manage technical responsibilities on her own. Despite raising repeated concerns and requesting assistance, Joshita wrote that she received no support.
In the same note, Joshita accused architect Debajit Sarma of submitting an incomplete and inaccurate estimate, containing numerous discrepancies. She stated that despite flagging these issues, she was isolated and pressured to proceed with the project.
Although both Medhi and Islam had recently been transferred, Medhi to Nalbari NH Division and Islam to the Chief Engineer’s office, Joshita claimed they continued to pressure her.
Meanwhile, Joshita’s mother filed an FIR at the Bongaigaon Police Station, accusing the two officials of persistently harassing her daughter for clearing the controversial bill.
“She used to talk about the work pressure. She was mentally shattered,” the grieving mother said.
ALSO READ: Assam govt demolishes IHM Guwahati to clear Silsako Beel from encroachments
Based on preliminary investigation, Bongaigaon police arrested both Medhi and Islam.
Sources stated that the suicide note, now in police custody, will serve as crucial evidence in the ongoing probe.
