Guwahati: A 42-year-old man who had gone for a morning walk was found dead in an uncovered drain along the National Highway in Guwahati’s Lalmati area on Monday, police said.The deceased has been identified as Tutul Borgohain, a native of Sivasagar district in Upper Assam who had been living in a rented house in Basistha for the past few years.He allegedly fell into the drain and the matter is being investigated, police said.Police reached the spot after being alerted by locals and recovered the body from the drain around 6-6.30am. The drain is maintained by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI).“The body has been sent for post-mortem. We are investigating the case to find out how the deceased fell into the drain or what might be the reasons behind his death,” Basistha police station officer-in-charge Kapil Pathak said.Police recovered a liquor bottle near the body. An FIR has been lodged by Borgohain’s family, the officer said. “The case is at the earliest stage of investigation and therefore, nothing more can be said,” he added.A local resident said on the condition of anonymity that he and two neighbours spotted the body floating in the drain water while they were out for a morning walk. The resident said Borgohain was often seen walking in the area. “After witnessing the body, we have informed the police and they recovered the body. It is an uncovered drain in this area for about 50-100m. Had the drain been covered with a slab, the person might not have fallen into it. However, a police investigation will reveal the truth,” the resident said.Meanwhile, NHAI sources said the drain falls under the authority’s jurisdiction. “The drain should have been covered well. The slabs over the drain are removed sometimes for maintenance, but it is well barricaded. In this case, the matter has been raised with the concerned Project Implementation Unit of the NHAI,” a source said.
