A day after the death of Territorial Army’s first woman jawan in Jalpaiguri, police today managed to tide over the protests of adivasi organisations and send her body for post mortem.
Demanding an impartial investigation into her death in Alipurduar Railway Hospital in Jalpaiguri district, adivasi organisations prevented the police from removing the body from the hospital where she was found hanging on Tuesday.
Tigga was found hanging with a ‘gamchha’ (traditional cotton towel) tied around her throat inside the cabin of the hospital at around 4.00 PM yesterday and the police got the body at 2.30 PM this afternoon.
SP Amit Javalgi pacified the protesters by assuring them of an impartial inquiry into her death, and a handsome compensation and a job would be provided to the family members of the dead adivasi woman jawan.
Tigga (37) had been a jawan with the 969 Railway Engineer Regiment of the Territorial Army and posted as a points-man at Chalsa station in the district.
Alleging that Tigga, who had allegedly been kidnapped and left tied to a post for a whole night five days ago, was murdered, workers of Adivasi Vikas Parishad, Jharkhand Mukti Morcha, Gorkha Janmukti Morcha’s (John Barla faction) were protesting since last evening.
The protesters alleged that the police did not provide any protection to Tigga, after she was rescued a day after being kidnapped.
The SP, however, said security had been provided to her but that facility could not be extended inside a bathroom where she was found hanging.
She was allegedly kidnapped after her duties in the evening of May 9. She was found blindfold and tied to a post near the railway tracks the next morning. Tigga, however, said she was not physically harmed by the kidnappers.
Mr. Javalgi had earlier said some papers were found in her bag after Tigga was rescued and investigation was on. However, he refused to divulge what those papers were.
The adivasi bodies have called a bandh in protest against her death in Dooars region. The bandh evoked response in areas like Malbazar, Banarhat, Nagrkata and Kalchini.
Tigga had joined the Railways in 2005 on compassionate ground after her husband died. She later remarried.
She took tests to join the Railway Engineer Regiment of the Territorial Army and earned the distinction in 2011 but had no idea of the feat till she achieved it, Tigga had said earlier.
