Abhishek Misra

Abhishek Misra’s death made headlines because of its association with then rail minister Lalu Prasad Yadav. Yet when the CBI closed the case stating that it was the result of drowning, Misra’s father, Subhash Chandra’s worst fears came true.

At around 9 am on the morning of December 8, 2006, four friends from Ranchi’s BIC Mesra made their way to the Dasham Falls for a picnic. The four were Lalu Prasad Yadav’s daughter, Ragini, and her three friends Abhishek, Bharat and Vishal. The van they used belonged to Bharat Rai, nephew of the state’s former minister Ravindra Rai. On the way they bought 5kgs of meat. Ragini would normally travel in an official car of the Railway ministry with female security guards. That day both were absent.

At the falls, the friends began cooking the meat and rice. After a while Abhishek left for a swim, allegedly missed a step, and was swept away by the water. When the friends raised an alarm, some villagers gathered there, but none dived into the waters. Later, Vishal lodged an FIR, but did not consider informing Abhishek’s father, a senior doctor at Delhi’s Dr Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital. Instead, they reached the home of chief minister Madhu Koda. Till then, the police had not begun looking for Abhishek.

Many questions surround Abhishek’s death. How could the computer science student not have known the dangers of stepping into the waters despite warning boards? Why did the friends go to the chief minister’s house? Why did the police show no interest in looking for Ragini's friend?

According to the three friends, the picnic was Abhishek’s idea, while Ragini had wanted to go someplace ‘safe’. None of them attended the funeral, which was held in Ranchi, and was attended by other students. They did not even meet Abhishek’s father, who repeatedly sought to talk to them.

When Misra received news of the accident, he rushed to Ranchi and enlisted the help of professional divers under the leadership of the headman of the neighbouring village of Devanga Munda to fish out the body. “The only time Ragini called me was to say that Abhishek’s death had been caused by drowning. There was no trace of pain. She did not make any effort to meet me. There were marks on Abhishek’s face. Then why did the postmortem report conclude that the death was caused by drowning” asks Misra senior.

Despite pressure from the opposition and Abhishek’s family, the state government handed the case to the CBI only when the deceased’s father approached the courts.

JD (U) MP and party spokesperson Shivanand Tiwari says Bharat Rai’s role is suspect. “Why did he go to BIT despite having passed out earlier?” Tiwari’s nephew, Sunny, had lost his life in an accident when he had gone to play cricket in Girih with Rai, and Rai had not informed the boy’s family about the death. The state’s DGP, Gaurishanker Rath, refuses to comment.

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