SHILLONG: Two separate incidents of suspected suicide have been reported in the city on Thursday, with the bodies of two men found hanging in Laban and Laimer in Upper Shillong. One of the incidents occurred within the premises of the Laban Police Station, sparking immediate investigation by the authorities.
Superintendent of Police,Vivek Syiem, informed the press that the incident at the Laban Police Station took place in the early hours of the morning near the flagpole area.
According to police reports, a Home Guard volunteer first spotted a man loitering in the vicinity around 6:30 AM. CCTV footage and eyewitness accounts indicate that the individual entered the police station compound at 6:43 AM. Only seven minutes later, at approximately 6:50 AM, he was discovered hanging from the flagpole structure.
Police and magistrates rushed to the scene to conduct an inquiry. The deceased has been identified as 32-year-old Mithun Gurung, a daily wage laborer residing in Lumparing. His body was subsequently transported to NEIGRIHMS for a post-mortem examination.
While the police have registered an Unnatural Death (UD) case, preliminary findings suggest that Gurung struggled with severe alcohol addiction and mental health issues. Officials believe these factors might have led him to seek refuge in the police station compound before ultimately taking his own life.Syiem clarified that the deceased had no prior criminal record or past cases registered with the police.
In a separate incident at Laimer, police were alerted at approximately 5:00 AM after early morning joggers discovered a body hanging near the State Bank of India (SBI) branch. Following an on-site investigation, the man was identified as 32-year-old Vijay Kumar Singh, a resident of Laimer Riatsohkhlur. Like the first case, his body was sent to NEIGRIHMS for an autopsy, and a UD case has been registered.
The Superintendent of Police stated that the two incidents are entirely unrelated and there is no evidence to suggest the two men knew each other. He further noted that no visible injury marks were found on either body, leading authorities to suspect suicide in both instances.
However, final confirmation regarding the cause of death is awaited pending the results of the post-mortem reports.
