“We are not equal”: Ashiq Ali’s father says mother had warned couple

Ashiq Ali’s father told reporters that he was not at home when his son left in the evening of September 25, the day Gauhati University student Nimisha Thakuria was found dead at a Guwahati homestay.

He said Ashiq had told his mother that he was going out, but the family did not receive any further information from him that evening.

According to Ashiq’s father, Nimisha had called his son in the afternoon and asked him to come over. He told her that he was unwell and that they would meet in the evening.

He said the family later learnt that Ashiq had taken Nimisha for medical attention and that police had taken him with them. The family received information about the development the following morning, he said.

Ashiq’s father also said the two had been in a relationship for around five years.

Ashiq’s mother had earlier warned the couple about differences between their families when Nimisha visited their home during Eid, he said.

“She is Hindu, we are Muslim. She is rich, we are poor. We are not equal,” Ashiq’s mother had told them, according to the family.

Nimisha, a Sociology student at Gauhati University and a resident of Dharapur under Azara Police Station, was found dead at Rudra’s Kitchen Homestay in Guwahati late on September 25.

Ashiq Ali, who was reportedly in a relationship with Nimisha, has been named as an accused in connection with the case. Police are investigating the circumstances surrounding her death.

The exact cause of death and the circumstances leading to the incident have not yet been officially established.