GUWAHATI: Police on Sunday sealed a homestay on the outskirts of Guwahati where a Gauhati University student was found unconscious and later died, after investigators found that the establishment had not collected mandatory identification documents from her and her alleged companion, officials said.Nimisha Thakuria was found in a critical condition at Rudra’s Kitchen homestay in the Dharapur-Garal area early on Saturday. She was taken to Garal Primary Health Centre and later referred to Gauhati Medical College and Hospital (GMCH), where doctors declared her dead on arrival.Police have detained her alleged companion, 26-year-old Ashiq Ali, and are investigating the circumstances surrounding her death. According to police, Nimisha and Ali had visited the homestay around five times in the past month.A preliminary probe found alleged lapses in maintaining proper guest documentation, police said. Investigators are examining its records and the circumstances in which Nimisha and Ali stayed there.The homestay had also not collected mandatory identification documents from the two, police said. Police have said Ali’s claim that Nimisha died by suicide has not yet been established and that all possible angles are being investigated.
‘Will stay at hostel with friends’
Nimisha’s father, Deep Thakuria, said she left home around 5pm on Friday and told her mother that she might spend the night at the Gauhati University hostel with friends.“She had told her mother that she would stay at Gauhati University hostel with her friends,” he said.Around 10pm, Nimisha again told her mother that she would spend the night there.But around 2am, she called her mother unexpectedly.“After that, we could no longer reach her. We kept calling her repeatedly, but there was no response,” Thakuria added.The family then contacted Azara police station, where an officer tried to trace Nimisha’s phone location.Thakuria said he and his family also went to the police station and informed the second officer-in-charge about the situation.Around half an hour later, police told the family that a girl had been found at Garal Primary Health Centre and asked them to verify whether she was Nimisha.He said police told them that if the woman was Nimisha, she would be taken immediately to Gauhati Medical College and Hospital.Ali told police that Nimisha had hanged herself and died by suicide.Deputy commissioner of police (west) Balin Deuri said investigators would establish whether that account was true.“Whether it is true or a lie, would come out during the investigation,” Deuri said. The body has been sent for post-mortem examination and police are awaiting the report.