Custodial torture case: Gauhati HC reserves judgment on alleged suicide of Titabor resident

Syllad | The Rising MeghalayaAugust 20, 2025

The Gauhati High Court on Tuesday reserved its judgment in the case relating to the alleged custodial torture and death of Dipankar Gogoi, a resident of Titabor. The matter was heard by a division bench comprising Justice Kalyan Rai Surana and Justice Susmita Phukan Khaund.

During the hearing, the amicus curiae, who had been appointed earlier to examine the case diary, submitted a report alleging that the medico-legal case (MLC) report was tampered with by the police, including alterations in the timings recorded. It was further pointed out that Dipankar was taken to a guest house, which had no CCTV coverage. The court observed that it may consider appointing a Special Investigation Team (SIT) or directing a CBI probe into the case.

Appearing for the petitioner Rimly Gogoi, advocate Arif Jwadder argued that the post-mortem report clearly mentioned multiple injury marks on the body of the deceased. He said that the police, in their affidavit, had admitted that Dipankar was held in custody for four consecutive days, which established custodial torture. He also questioned why the deceased was taken to a guest house and later to the SP’s bungalow, suggesting that such places could have been used as unofficial torture centres.

The petitioner’s counsel further highlighted inconsistencies in the police version. He pointed out that in the second final report, the investigating officer himself mentioned that Dipankar had a life threat, yet the then SP failed to investigate that angle. He argued that only an impartial agency could ensure a fair probe, as the state police could not be expected to investigate their own officers.

According to case records, Dipankar was taken into custody every day between December 21 and 25, 2023, by Titabor and Jorhat Sadar police, allegedly on the orders of the then SP Mohanlal Meena. Unable to withstand the torture, he allegedly committed suicide on the morning of December 26. His sister Rimly later lodged an FIR accusing SP Mohanlal Meena, SDPO Kakoli Patgiri, Titabor police station officer-in-charge Lakhsman Kumar Das, and others of torturing her brother to death.

The post-mortem report confirmed injury marks on Dipankar’s body and buttocks. However, the police closed the case by submitting a final report. Following a protest petition by Rimly Gogoi, the Sub-Divisional Judicial Magistrate (SDJM), Titabor, ordered further investigation by a senior officer.

The second investigation, conducted by Sivasagar SP Subhrojyoti Bora, concluded that there was no torture and that Dipankar, fearing threats to his life, had committed suicide. This report was also rejected by the SDJM, who went on to register a case against the accused police personnel at Titabor.

In March 2025, Rimly approached the Gauhati High Court seeking a CBI inquiry. After a detailed hearing on Tuesday, which lasted nearly three hours, the court reserved its judgment in the case.

The case has been registered as Rimly Gogoi Saikia vs State of Assam & Ors (Writ Criminal 11/2025).