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Woman PWD engineer dies by suicide in Assam; 2 officials arrested for abetment
The woman in her suicide note blamed two senior officials for pressuring her to pass fraudulent bills and described months of mental harassment and lack of institutional support
A 30-year-old assistant engineer with the Public Works Department (PWD) in Assam’s Bongaigaon allegedly died by suicide, leaving behind a note blaming two senior officials for pressuring her to pass fraudulent bills, police said.
The deceased, a resident of Guwahati, had recently been posted to Bongaigaon. Her body was found in her rented apartment around 1.30 pm, police officials said.
In her handwritten suicide note, the engineer alleged that she had been under intense mental stress due to constant pressure from two senior officials who allegedly forced her to approve bills for incomplete work. Based on the note and a formal complaint lodged by her family, police registered a case under Section 108 (abetment of suicide) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023.
The accused have been identified as Dinesh Medhi Sharma, a recently promoted superintendent engineer who earlier served as executive engineer in Bongaigaon, and Aminul Islam, a sub-divisional officer (SDO) currently posted in Bongaigaon.
“They have been arrested and are being questioned. We are examining all aspects of the case,” a senior police official said.
The woman’s note, which surfaced on social media shortly after her death, is now part of the investigation. A senior officer confirmed that the note was recovered from the room where her body was found. It has been sent for forensic analysis.
In the note, she described months of mental harassment and lack of institutional support. “I am taking this step due to extreme stress from my work, there is no one to guide me in the office. I am tired and have nowhere to go. My parents are worried for me,” the note said.
Following the postmortem examination, the body was handed over to the family on Tuesday evening.
Police said further investigations are underway and more arrests could follow if others are found complicit in the alleged coercion.
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