Third arrest made in PWD engineer Joshita Das suicide case in Bongaigaon

In a fresh development in the suicide case of Public Works Department (PWD) engineer Joshita Das, Bongaigaon Sadar Police have arrested Devajit Sharma, the designer of the Barshanagar Mini Stadium in Bongaigaon. 

His name was reportedly mentioned in the suicide note left by Joshita.

This is the third arrest made in connection with the case, as police continue to probe the circumstances surrounding the young engineer’s tragic death. Investigators are closely examining the contents of the suicide note and other evidence and have not ruled out further arrests.

The case has triggered widespread concern across Assam, particularly within engineering and administrative circles, with mounting demands for a transparent and thorough investigation.

The incident has brought to light a disturbing case of alleged workplace harassment. Joshita, a Junior Engineer with the PWD (Housing), had been posted in Bongaigaon for nearly a year. She was found hanging in her rented accommodation in Barpara on Monday.

Also Read: Assam: Junior engineer’s suicide in Bongaigaon sparks public outcry, senior PWD officials arrested for alleged harassment

A detailed suicide note recovered from the scene has sent shockwaves through the system. In it, Joshita explicitly named two senior PWD officials — former Executive Engineer Dinesh Sharma Medhi and former SDO Aminul Islam — accusing them of mental harassment and coercion.

The note described how she was allegedly pressured to clear a contractor’s bill linked to the construction of the “MIN Stadium at Borsojgaon under Gossaigaon LAC,” a project executed with M/s Achetic Creations. She claimed the project lacked essential documentation, including proper architectural drawings, and yet she was pushed to approve financial documents despite procedural lapses.

Joshita also named the contractor, Rudra Pathak, who she said had no site engineer, forcing her to bear the full responsibility of execution. Her repeated calls for assistance, she wrote, were ignored.

Further, she accused architect Debajit Sarma of submitting a flawed and incomplete estimate. Despite flagging the discrepancies, Joshita alleged she was left isolated and under pressure to carry forward the project without proper support.

Although both Medhi and Islam had recently been transferred — Medhi to the Nalbari NH Division and Islam to the Office of the Chief Engineer — the note suggests they continued to pressure her from their new postings.

Following her death, Joshita’s mother filed an FIR at the Bongaigaon Police Station, naming the officials as responsible for her daughter’s mental distress. “She used to talk about the work pressure. She was mentally shattered,” her mother said while speaking to reporters.

The case continues to unfold, with growing calls for institutional reforms to protect young professionals from such systemic abuse.