From stealing tea-leaves to kidnapping and extortion- Rajib Chasha, the alleged mastermind behind Dhrubojyoti Nath's murder

Late at night, after two days of third-degree treatment, he confessed his crime. He said to the investigating officers at Silchar Sadar that Dhrubojyoti Nath is no more. It was around 11:00 PM August 6, 2020 close to 48 hours after the 5-month-old Kajidahar, Sonai resident was kidnapped while he was asleep with his parents. After confessing the crime he said he has buried the 5-month-old somewhere in a village in Sonai. He is Rajib Chasha, the alleged mastermind behind the abduction and murder of the child.

One of the investigating officers said his first impression of Chasha was that he is a “hardcore criminal.” The Police officer said he has seen veteran criminals giving up sooner than Chasha did. “There was a stage when we thought should we stop the interrogation, as it was unlikely that he would speak up,” said another investigating officer.

Not only that, Chasha even misguided the Police several times while they were in search of the body in the middle of the night. Eventually, he gave up. The body was recovered and sent for postmortem. Three in connection with the crime have also been arrested and the Police officials are now preparing a case diary that can stand the scrutiny of law. But who is Rajib Chasha? How did he become a criminal?

As per available information, Chasha originally hails from the Dewan tea-estate in Lakhipur Legislative Assembly Constituency. Barak Bulletin has confirmed that he was employed in the tea-estate as a temporary “Safai Karmachari.” While at work, he started stealing processed tea-leaves and that is when the management sacked him.

From bad, it got worse and Chasha started stealing mobile phones, domestic animals like goats and cows. As per Police sources, Chasha has confessed that in 2016 he got into kidnapping for the first time.

That year, a security official in Labac Tea Estate, Munna Hazam found his child is missing from his house at around 6:00 AM in the morning “We thought my child is roaming around. We have a door made of bamboo and that was open. Soon we realised that two mobile phones are missing from the house. When we dialed one of them, we were told that our child has been kidnapped and we must pay a ransom of Rs 3 lakh,” recalls Munna Hazam.

He adds, “We were told to reach Hmarcullen with the money and then to Jiribam and then somewhere in Lakhipur. After hassling us for an entire day, we handed over the cash to the kidnapper in front of DC’s office in Cachar and our child was handed over to us in Medical Road. It was Rajib Chasha who took the money from us.”

After knowing Hazam’s traumatic experience, the locals started fuming and Chasha left his native once and for all. He was not seen until last year in Lakhipur. Chasha was back living a normal life in public. There are allegations that he is a serial kidnapper and in the last ten months, Dhrubojyoti Nath was his third victim.

As per senior officials in Cachar Police, he continues to misguide the investigating officers. “He keeps saying that he was asked to kidnap Dhrubojyoti Nath. But each time he gives a different name. He is not a rookie at this for sure,” said a Police officer.

The rise and rise of Rajib Chasha as a criminal is an alarming sign for society. It is certain that he is not the only one and Dhrubojyoti Nath is not the last victim.

In an exclusive interview with Barak Bulletin, DGP Assam Bhaskar Jyoti Mahanta said, “This is one of the most gruesome and uncivilised crime in recent history. The brazen manner in which this crime was committed speaks of the kind of moral turpitude that our society is experiencing these days. The degradation of moral values is a societal challenge and it needs to be addressed by society itself.”

Police cannot stop the birth of a criminal it is the society that can. Police’s responsibility is to ensure that they are able to catch the criminals sooner. DGP Mahanta said he is personally monitoring the case.

A strong case diary will ensure severe punishment for perpetrators. That would set an example and induce fear among such criminals believes Deputy Speaker Aminul Haque Laskar who has demanded capital punishment.

Whatever happens now will not get Dhrubojyoti Nath back to his family. What happens to Chasha remains to be seen.