DIBRUGARH, May 14 � Dr Dipmoni Saikia, the key player in the sensational Dr Sarita Tasniwal murder case, was arrested this morning after a marathon interrogation at the Sadar Police Station here. Dr Saikia was arrested on the basis of confessions made by the casual ward boy Kiru Mech, the alleged murderer, several co-relating events and depositions made by witnesses. Kiru Mech was arrested on the day of the crime on May 9.
Superintendent of Police, Rana Bhuyan said that the conspiracy of murder was hatched a month back by Dr Dipmoni Saikia, a fellow doctor of the Obstetrics and Gynaecology department, of which the victim Dr Sarita was also a student. �Dr Saikia had promised the ward boy a regularised job and all kinds of help in lieu of the crime,� Bhuyan told mediapersons during a press meet at the Sadar PS today.
On the night before the fateful morning, police said, Dr Saikia was assigned with night duty, but he abstained from duty without prior information. However, the following dawn, when the ward boy left the department to submit the duty register to the matron, he happened to meet Dr Saikia near the Blood Bank. Dr Saikia reportedly asked Kiru Mech, if the attending nurses had left and if their plan could be executed as plotted. When the ward boy said that the nurse was still on duty, Dr Saikia asked Mech to ensure that the nurse left and that he did not fail in the act. Kiru made sure that the nurse had left after he returned to the department, according to the police.
The police said that as gathered from Kiru Mech, Dr Saikia himself was a partner in the crime, as they both strangled Dr Sarita Tasniwal to death. �Dr Dipmoni Saikia was in double gloves and had entered the department from the NRHM door, which is behind the Obstetrics and Gynaecology department. When Dr Sarita was taking rest inside the duty room, Kiru and Dr Saikia entered the room one after another. Mech took a blanket and all of a sudden covered the face of Dr Sarita and tried to strangle her, while Dr Saikia held her legs. Dr Sarita had screamed once, but failed later as Kiru held her mouth shut with one hand and strangled her with the other. The duo later brought down the struggling Dr Sarita from the bed to the floor after becoming aware that an attendant was advancing towards the crime area, perhaps after hearing the loud scream of the victim. During the lynching on the ground, Kiru sat on the chest of Dr Sarita, while Dr Saikia was seated behind Kiru over the victim�s tummy. After Sarita�s body stopped making movements, Kiru pierced her neck with a surgical blade to confirm her death. Dr Saikia also used a stethoscope to check if Dr Sarita was still surviving. They then lifted her body and laid it on the bed in a sleeping posture. Dr Saikia then removed his gloves and wrapped them in a paper and carried them along with him as he again left from behind the department,� SP Bhuyan said.
However, Dr Dipmoni Saikia who was interrogated last night, has not admitted to the crime. He has been reportedly telling that he has been dragged into the murder case, police said. Dr Saikia who was produced in the court has been remanded to seven-day police custody.
Although the reason behind the heinous crime is not known, police said that the call records of the victim and Dr Saikia showed that there was some kinship between them previously but for the past one month or so, they were not on good terms. It is speculated that a failed love proposal could be behind the murder plot.
Kiru Mech, the ward boy told mediapersons today that something was wrong between Dr Sarita and Dr Dipmoni as they were not friendly anymore like before. �When I asked why he wanted Dr Sarita Tasniwal killed, Dr Dipmoni Saikia said that it was not necessary for me to know,� he said.
On the arrest of Dr Dipmoni Saikia, the medical students of AMC said that whoever was guilty must be arrested and punished. �We cannot imagine that a doctor would be involved in the killing of a fellow doctor. We are fighting for justice of the victim and if Dr Saikia is guilty, he must face the law,� Dr Rananjay Sharma, president of the Assam Medical College Students� Union said, adding that they have not called off their strike although they will be on duty and attending classes.
