Dibrugarh doctor thrashed by 2 men for Facebook comment, says family

A young doctor in Assam’s Dibrugarh district was beaten mercilessly by two men who came to his house on Monday evening, police said after a complaint by the doctor, currently working as an intern at a government hospital in Majuli district.

Dibrugarh superintendent of police (SP) Shwetank Mishra said the attack on the doctor Gitartha Saikia (23) was a result of a personal issue and they have identified one of the accused. “Due to a personal issue, the junior doctor was attacked, and the accused are absconding. Family members have identified one of them and they said there were two attackers,” Mishra said.

Gitartha’s father Kiran Saikia said two men came to his house and asked for his son.

“One of them was talking to Gitartha and the other started hitting him from behind. He fell unconscious immediately and they kept hitting him even after that,” Kiran told reporters.

“I tried to save my son and they pushed me back as well. I dialled the police and asked the neighbours to help when the miscreants fled in a car they came in,” he said.

Kiran identified two attackers as Rajdeep Gohain and Devraj Borgohain. The family said that the attack was linked to Girartha’s response to a Facebook comment by a woman on a song that he had released.

He said Gitartha was taken to a local hospital after the attack and is being treated. Local residents staged a protest on Tuesday to demand that the police immediately arrest the culprits.