HT Correspondent
SIVASAGAR, Sept 19: In a ghastly incident, Ramen Baruah (75) of Teportal Gohaingaon, Konwarpur, hacked his younger son Dipu (32) to death in the early hours on Thursday, ending months of torture the deceased had inflicted on the family under the influence of liquor.
The accused father was arrested by the Sivasagar police and sent to jail.
His elder son said that his brother abused his parents almost every night and that his father had been suffering from depression for over a month. A neighbour told this correspondent that despite warnings from his father, the young man regularly consumed liquor with his friends, returned home late at night, and forced his parents to cook rice at midnight.
Diganta Saud, a reputed school teacher of Konwarpur, told this correspondent that illicit liquor booths are everywhere in the rural areas and that roadside small shops have started selling wine nowadays. Young people approach these shops in the evening for cheap liquor.
The police administration and the Excise Department need to coordinate efforts to stop these illegal activities and the resulting crimes. Another conscious villager, requesting anonymity, told this correspondent that he once reported the illegal liquor trade in a nearby shop to the police. The police came, took away a few bottles of wine and some cash, but the shop owner resumed his illegal trade the next day with renewed vigour and threatened him with dire consequences if he reported to the police again.
The Sivasagar Police and Excise Department only carry out ceremonial raids against illicit liquor in the district on the eve of elections, he added.
