CHAYGAON, Dec 9 - Dipanjan Das, a 17-year-old employee of Sainik Bhawan located at Rajgarh Road of Guwahati, had fallen to bullets fired by security personnel during an anti-CAA protest on December 12 last year in Lachit Nagar area of the city.
But, there is no proof!
Although it�s hard to believe, it is the bitter truth.
The anti-CAA movement, which touched every walk of life in Assam last year, will complete one year in a couple of days. During that period, when most leaders of the movement were busy in preparing themselves for the election, parents of Dipanjan travelled an umpteen number of times from their home at Doloipara village of Chaygaon to Guwahati in search of their son�s post-mortem report and the death certificate. Every time, they received only negative response from the officials concerned. As a proof of Dipanjan�s demise, the family has only a �medical certification of death,� which was issued by doctors at the Gauhati Medical College and Hospital (GMCH) on December 12, which also mentioned the name of the deceased as �unknown�.
�In search of the post-mortem report and the death certificate, we have made a number of visits to the Paltan Bazar Police Station and the GMCH in the past 12 months. In every visit, we met senior officials of the police station and the GMCH; but, till date, we haven�t received a proper reply from any of them. We don�t even know the number of the case, which was registered by Paltan Bazar police in connection with the death,� said Kabita Das, Dipanjan�s mother, when this correspondent, along with the Azara correspondent of The Assam Tribune, Nayan Kalita, visited their house recently.
It is noteworthy that after his death, when this correspondent visited the Sainik Bhawan and talked with Dipanjan�s colleagues, they stated that he was not actively involved with the movement. On December 12, when all sections of people took to street in protest against the controversial citizenship Act, he also took part in a protest march and died in police firing, they said.
This is a pathetic example of how a section of people living below the poverty line are thwarted by the system and deprived of their due. The family still lives in a small and dilapidated hut and the three children � Dipanjan, his elder sister Sangita and elder brother Dipankar � were school dropouts.
After Dipanjan�s death, the family did not get any help from the government.�
�After my brother�s demise, Rahul Gandhi visited our house and gave Rs 2 lakh as a one-time compensation. He also gave our father a battery-operated rickshaw. During that time, local MLA Rekibuddin Ahmed also financially helped us a lot. But, no one from the State government came to our house during such a critical time. Due to some unknown reasons, we have even been deprived of benefits under government schemes,� Sangita lamented.
Sangita was working as a private security guard in Bangalore when her younger brother died. After the incident, she returned home and remains unemployed till date. Her brother Dipankar is working in a private industry located in Chaygaon area.�
�Dipankar is the sole bread earner of our family. But, his monthly salary is not enough to cater to our needs. I�m looking for a job, but yet to get any opportunity. After my brother�s death, our parents� health started failing. My father is not in a condition to ply the rickshaw. Most of the financial assistance we had received after the incident got spent in the treatment of our parents. Earlier, a number of persons and organizations visited our house and assured us of help. But, there�s no one to help us now. Only, some local student leaders are helping us,� Sangita lamented.
During his visit, Rahul Gandhi also assured them to get a concrete house built for them in the place of the hut.
The assurance remains unfulfilled.
