CBI registers FIR into alleged suicide of PWD engineer in Assam

New Delhi, Oct 14 (PTI) The CBI has registered an FIR into the alleged suicide of an assistant engineer of Public Works Department (PWD) in Assam due to "tremendous undue and illegitimate pressure" from her superiors to indulge in corrupt activities, officials said Tuesday.

According to the procedure, the CBI has re-registered the FIR of the Bongaigaon police station as its own case on a reference from the Assam government.

Joshita Das, who was posted at PWD's Bongaigaon sub-division, was found dead in her house on July 22 by her acquaintances.

Her family has alleged that she was under tremendous undue and illegitimate pressure from senior colleagues and contractors including architect Debajit Sharma, SDO Aminul Islam, executive engineer Dinesh Medhi Sharma regarding the construction of a mini-stadium in Bongaigaon, the FIR said.

All the three suspects have been named in the FIR registered by the CBI, the officials said.

Das was "forced, coerced, criminally intimidated and threatened" to prepare and pass estimates and bills in irregular manner which took a severe toll on her, for which she had to take this extreme step and thereby putting an end to her life, the FIR said.

Days before her death, Das had been informing her family about the pressure from superiors, it said.

She had allegedly told her senior officers about the illegitimate demands of her colleagues but she was rebuked and asked to work as per their wishes and harassed her mentally, the FIR said.

The Assam government had formed a seven-member Special Investigating Team (SIT) to probe the suspected suicide.

Three accused were arrested in the case. Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma had said the case warrants a thorough investigation due to public concern and possible inter-state links.

The Opposition Congress had written to Governor Laxman Prasad Acharya seeking a probe by the CBI or any other independent central agency. PTI ABS ZMN