Gauhati University Student Found Dead in Guwahati Homestay; Male Friend Arrested

A 22-year-old Gauhati University student was found dead in a homestay room on the outskirts of Guwahati early on Saturday, and police have arrested the 26-year-old man who was staying with her, suspecting murder even as he claimed she died by suicide.

The woman, Nimisha Thakuria, a Sociology student and a resident of Dharapur, was at the homestay in Garal with Asif Ali, who has been taken into custody. According to Guwahati West Deputy Commissioner of Police Bolin Deori, Ali told investigators that Thakuria hanged herself. "We don't believe his version. We need to continue our investigation," Deori said, adding that the inquiry is at a preliminary stage and that police suspect murder. He said no blood was found on the body or the floor. The post-mortem examination report was awaited.

Police were alerted by a local health facility after Thakuria was brought there unconscious. She was referred to Gauhati Medical College and Hospital, where doctors declared her dead. Investigators are questioning the homestay owner, caretakers and other staff.

A family friend, Gautam Das, a neighbour of Thakuria's father, said the young woman had left home around 5 pm on Friday, telling her family she was going to a friend's house for snacks. Her mother called her around 8 pm and again around 10 pm, and both times she said she would spend the night at her friend's home. Das claimed that at about 2 am, Thakuria called her mother, crying, and said, "They will kill me, Mom," repeating the words before her phone was "probably snatched." The claim remains to be investigated.

The homestay's cook and caretaker, Bipul Bailung, said he heard a man shouting during the night, asking someone to get up. He and two colleagues went outside but found no one, and later saw police flashing torchlights nearby. When they returned to the homestay, Bailung said, they heard crying and found a young man holding a woman whose body was lying on the floor. The owners were called, and an ambulance was summoned. Bailung said the two had booked Room Number 10 but also used the empty Room 9, and some staff members said the pair had stayed at the homestay before.

Since the woman was Hindu and the arrested man is Muslim, the death triggered a protest by some organisations alleging "love jihad," a conspiracy theory promoted by right-wing Hindu groups. Protesters blocked a road, and police appealed to them to clear it before the blockade was lifted.