3 Men from Assam Die in Meghalaya, Their Bodies Cremated in Unmarked Graves

The bodies were found completely burnt and beyond recognition. The men were identified by the hired car they were travelling in, which was found nearby.

According to the police, a preliminary inquiry indicated that the men were executed, their bodies set on fire to evade identification and then buried. The bodies were discovered in Rongmil area, 15 km from Rongjeng in East Garo Hills.

Two of the men were found in a single grave while the presumed driver was in another grave. The police stumbled upon the graves while searching for the missing men after their families reported their disappearance.

The men – Jamar Ali and Zahidul Islam and their driver Noor Ahmed from Assam’s Goalpara’s Dolguma – had left home on Monday evening, planning to travel to Meghalaya for work. They made a call to their families around 6 am on Tuesday, stating that they were having breakfast after entering East Garo Hills through the Damra-Dainadubi-Wageasi road to Rongmil, which was the last contact with them.

The phones were found to be switched off when they were called later, causing their families to worry and alert the authorities. The police started the search from the breakfast spot and eventually located the Maruti Swift vehicle they were traveling in, which was found deep inside a bamboo forest in Rongmil area, completely burnt.

The graves were found nearby. After an on-the-spot postmortem, the bodies were handed to the families for last rites, according to the police.

The murder, occurring on the eve of polling, has shocked the region. The police suspect that the men could have been killed by rivals.

Zahidul Islam was involved in car lifting, and Jamar Ali was involved in cattle rustling, as per the police. Zahidul Islam also has a non-bailable warrant against him.