A 22-year-old Gauhati University student was found dead at a homestay in Guwahati’s Garchuk-Dharapur area early on Saturday morning and police are investigating the cause of her death. The deceased student was identified as Nimisha Thakuria, a Sociology student at Gauhati University who lived in Dharapur.
A man named Asif Ali has been arrested by police. Asif, who was in a relationship with Nimisha, told police that she died by suicide. But police have said that it is not his account which will be accepted and that all aspects of the case are being investigated.
Bolin Deori, a senior police officer from Guwahati, said Asif had claimed that Nimisha hanged herself from a ceiling fan at the homestay. The officer said the statement was being treated as part of the investigation and would need to be verified by the police.
Asif said Nimisha had died from self-harm according to police reports. But investigators are looking at the facts independently to know what happened before she was found unconscious. The cause and the exact reasons for her death have not been established at this stage.
Nimisha was found unconscious at Rudra’s Kitchen homestay in the Garchuk-Dharapur area in the early hours of Saturday. She was taken to a hospital for emergency medical treatment, but doctors declared her dead after she was taken to the facility.
Police are now investigating the sequence of events leading up to her death. They are investigating her movements, the people she met and what she was doing in the homestay.
Nimisha had been going to the homestay with a male friend, the police said. She had been staying there since September 20, but police have not confirmed that. This information will be reviewed as part of the investigation.
Police said that the homestay staff told investigators that Nimisha and Asif visited the property occasionally. Records and other information associated with such visits will be compared with the information of the visits as investigators piece together the sequence of events that led to the incident.
Police are also looking at the male acquaintance and Asif’s movements. His detention does not necessarily imply criminal responsibility and investigators are trying to gather evidence before concluding what caused Nimisha’s death.
The case has attracted attention because of the uncertainty in the circumstances in which the young university student died. The detained man has said Nimisha died by suicide but police are not establishing that. They have said they are looking at all angles before they can determine what happened.
As part of the investigation, police will look at the homestay premises and establish how Nimisha was found. They will also review evidence and statements from people connected with the property and the deceased.
Nimisha’s death has also come as a shock to those connected to Gauhati University. She was pursuing Sociology at the university and was residing in Dharapur. We shall know more about her academic background and personal circumstances as the investigation continues.
At present, police have not publicly identified the cause of death beyond what was reported from the homestay. Medical findings and other evidence collected during the investigation will be key in establishing the circumstances of the death.
The authorities are still trying to question the detained man and discuss the evidence. They will also attempt to make a detailed timeline of Nimisha's movements from the time she arrived at the homestay until she was found unconscious.
The case is currently under investigation and police have not ruled on the circumstances in which Nimisha Thakuria died. The claim that she died by suicide remains an allegation made by the detained man and has not been independently established. Further developments are expected as investigators verify the statements and evidence from the scene.
