AGARTALA: While police are treating the death of a 24-year-old hostel staff at Shantiniketan Medical College here in Agartala as a probable suicide, her family has alleged murder and filed a complaint, prompting the Tripura government to order a magisterial enquiry on Thursday.
The deceased, identified as Manisha Das (24), daughter of Biswajit Das and a resident of Kathalthali in Madhuban area, was found hanging from a ceiling fan inside a locked room in the college’s women’s hostel late on Wednesday night, June 10. It is learned that she had initially worked as a caretaker at the college and was recently posted to its examination cell. Known among colleagues and locals as a responsible and calm person, her sudden death has left those around her stunned.
According to sources, it was local students and residents who first broke open the locked door to enter the room after no response came from inside, and it was they who found her body hanging from the ceiling fan. The matter was immediately reported to police.
While speaking to Ukhrul Times, Officer-In-Charge of Amtali Police Station Paritosh Das confirmed that the forensic team collected all circumstantial evidence from the spot and that CCTV footage from across the college premises has been seized.
“After the incident was reported, police found her body in a hanging condition and we are presently investigating the whole incident,” he said. He added that the hostel’s CCTV footage yielded nothing and that one person has been detained for questioning following a complaint filed by the family. “As of initial investigations, it is a suicide case,” he stated, adding that the post-mortem report will determine the actual cause of death.
The Amtali Superintendent of Police (SDPO), Paramita Pandey, also weighed in, saying that preliminary indications point towards suicide as the young woman was found hanging from a ceiling fan inside a room whose door had to be broken open from outside. However, she added that the investigation remains open and that no conclusion will be drawn before the post-mortem report is received.
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Looking at the gravity of the situation, the state Home Department on Thursday issued order directing Dr. Vishal Kumar, District Magistrate and Collector of West Tripura, to conduct a magisterial enquiry into the incident and submit a detailed report covering all aspects to the Home Department within 15 days.
However, the family has firmly rejected the suicide reading. Her mother alleged that Manisha’s official duty hours were 9 am to 5 pm but she was regularly forced to stay overnight at the hostel against her will.
“Why was my daughter made to stay at night when her duty ended at 5 pm? Who forced her to stay?” she asked. The family has further claimed that Manisha may have become aware of something sensitive inside the institution in the days before her death, and that she was silenced because of what she knew.
“This is not suicide. Our daughter has been murdered,” the family said, demanding swift identification and strict punishment of those responsible. They have also called for a thorough and impartial probe into every circumstance surrounding her death.
As news of the incident spread, the college campus turned tense on Thursday morning with crowds gathering around the hostel area. Grief and anger ran together through the gathering, with questions mounting over how such an incident could occur inside a medical college. Demands for a transparent investigation have come from various quarters, with many insisting that the family’s allegations cannot be brushed aside without a full inquiry.
Meanwhile, the body was shifted to GB Pant Hospital morgue in the presence of family members and college authorities on Thursday morning for postmortem. Police have said the actual cause of death will only be established after the postmortem report and forensic analysis are complete.
The incident has left many across the state deeply unsettled. People have been drawing parallels to a pattern of institutional violence against women that has shaken public confidence in recent times, with many seeing this as yet another episode that demands accountability from those in positions of authority.
