Confirmed: Former 'Dima Halam Daogah' Leader Killed, Police Recover Corpse

Haflong, April 30, 2020:

Police sources have confirmed that a former insurgent leader-turned Government contractor called Santosh Hojai who was abducted earlier this week, has indeed died. The man's corpse was recovered earlier today at Lailang, about 70 kms away from Haflong, the administrative headquarter of Dima Hasao.

Tensions came to a head on Friday, April 24, when the well-known local contractor was abducted from his residence, allegedly by 4-5 armed men.

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Around 6 pm, 4-5 persons barged into the residence of the contractor at Dimadi Hawar village under Harangajao police station of Dima Hasao district. According to Hojai’s wife, the came in a while Bolero vehicle. First, they asked about Hojai then said that their car had broken down and they needed JCV. Then, the persons forcefully dragged Hojai to the Bolero vehicle and left. The abducted man’s wife, Joyanta, lodged an FIR at the Harangajao police station on the same night.

After locals in the area came to know about the incident, they surrounded the Harangajao police station, demanding the safe and immediate release of Hojai.

A cloud of suspicion has continued to hang over the entire incident.

“During the lockdown period, when stringent measures have made it tough for people to roam about and it has become tough for people to leave their homes, how it is possible for 5 persons to roam about freely in a Bolero?”, a certain section of civilians have asked the administration. The locals raised another hue-and-cry when reports suggested that the abductors had been roaming around town in the same vehicle since the daytime.

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Although the officer-in-charge of Harangajao police station gave the locals assurance that police was doing their work with “full responsibility”, the discovery of the corpse has given rise to further tensions in the region.

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