New Delhi:
The Railway Police has arrested one person in connection with murder of Pritam Bhattacharjee, a student from Assam, last month.
The accused, Chhatu Sahni, has been arrested based on information given by two eyewitnesses and is being questioned in Barauni, Bihar. He will be later produced in a court in Begusarai.
On July 9, Mr Bhattacharjee, a student of atomic physics was travelling from Guwahati to Delhi in Avadh Assam express to pursue his PhD in New Delhi. When the train was passing through Naugachia in Bhagalpur in eastern Bihar, he was attacked by thieves in his compartment. His family claims that he got down at the Naugachia station nearly 14 hours later, and informed the local police station and the Railway Police about his attack. At the station, he reportedly had a cup of tea and was on his mobile phone. A couple of hours later, when his family tried to reach him, his cellphone was switched off. His dead body was found six days later, in Bihar.
The local police believe that Mr Bhattacharjee was kidnapped from Naugachia itself and kept on sedatives. They say he may have died of an overdose and the kidnappers then abandoned his body. Sources say the police believe the student died 12 hours before his body was found.
His friends, who have been demanding justice for Pritam, are also hoping that the bigger question of railway safety is addressed, in a country where trains are the most common mode of travel.