The Nehu campus

Shillong, May 15: The father of a PhD student at the North Eastern Hill University (Nehu) is waging a battle to demand precise answers to the mysterious and controversial death of his son on the university campus in March this year.

Gamlinang, a resident of Tamenglong district in Manipur and father of James Todiuwang, has recently filed a fresh FIR at Mawlai police station stating that the death of his son was not a mere motorbike accident, but a “cold blooded murder”.

Gamlinang said his son, a PhD student in the department of economics at Nehu, was found dead under mysterious conditions around 6pm on March 17 near Gate No. 2 of the university.

“Police have not arrested or booked anyone even after one-and-a-half months. The Zeliangrong Students’ body had also filed an FIR at Mawlai police station on March 18 and a case was subsequently registered under Section 304 IPC. The Naga Students’ Union had submitted a memorandum to the Meghalaya governor, home minister and the concerned superintendent of police in this regard,” he added.

In their memorandum to governor R.S. Mooshahary, who is also the chief rector of the university, on March 22, the Naga Students’ Union, Shillong, demanded a CBI probe into the case. It also alleged that the death of James was a clear case of gruesome murder, as one of the three pedestrians who admitted to have been hit by the motorbike suffered only minor injuries and the two-wheeler was not damaged.

“The impact on the pedestrian and the motorbike clearly indicates that James was riding at a very low speed, which under any condition could not crush his helmet and the back of his head,” the memorandum stated.

A copy of the memorandum was forwarded to President Pratibha Patil, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Union home minister P. Chidambaram and others.

In his fresh FIR filed at Mawlai police station on May 11, Gamlinang stated that James’ death was not caused by any accident but was a cold-blooded murder as the post-mortem report suggests.

He said the injury marks on his son’s body seemed to have been inflicted upon him. “His death was caused by the impact of a hard blunt object on his head.”

He stated in the FIR that an uncertified copy of the post-mortem report had cleared his doubts that James did not die of any accident. He also stated that the body was handed over to relatives after post-mortem and on the same day it was taken to Manipur where the funeral was held on March 19. “It is a case of cold blooded murder and the statements given by the three main witnesses before the police and the court were all false, as no person who had received a minor injury in his leg would become unconscious. The three primary witnesses should be arrested and re-questioned as to why my son’s life was taken before his time,” Gamlinang said in the FIR.

James’s father is now appealing to all student bodies, parents and NGOs to appeal to the law enforcing agency to expedite the investigation and bring justice to his son, and to ensure that such incidents do not recur in future.

“The students are vulnerable and they are our hope as well as our future leaders,” he said.