Police said that they have registered a case.

Guwahati:

A 20-year-old youth was found hanging from a tree in a tea garden in Assam on Monday, a day after he was allegedly invited to his girlfriend's house.

Tension and protests have started in the district after the incident.

Biki Bishal's family alleges that her girlfriend's family killed her for refusing to convert.

According to the family, there was blood on his eyes, nose and ears.

Five people, including two church officials, the girl's father and uncle, have been arrested in Lakhimpur.

Biki Bishal committed suicide, it was murdered, it is being investigated.

The family says that on September 3, a week before his death, Bicky Vishal had eloped with his girlfriend and brought her home.

They belong to the same tribal community, but he is a Hindu and the girl is a Christian.

Her family along with some church officials came to her house and forcibly took the girl away.

On Monday, Vishal got another call and that too went away.

He claims that the call was from his girlfriend's family and they killed her and hanged her from a tree.

A senior police officer looking into the matter told NDTV, "There are allegations that the girl's family, with the help of two church officials, pressured Bishal to convert to religion to marry the girl, but he did not agree."

"We are probing this aspect and have so far arrested five people and taken them on seven-day police remand. It is not a case of lynching as it appears from our preliminary investigation," the officer said. But we have to find out whether it is a case of suicide or not, or whether he was killed and hanged. We are looking into all aspects."

The people of Vishal's village, including members of a right-wing group, are protesting demanding justice for his family.

He alleged that a Hindu man was killed to fight "forced conversions".

Bishal's neighbor Arup Barek told reporters, "We found blood on his nose, ears and eyes. This made us think that he did not die by suicide, but was murdered and hanged."

Berek said, "The girl's family is behind this incident, as she ran away for marriage and came to the boy's house. Since she is a minor, Vishal's family had asked her to meet and discuss the matter." But his family members came with lots of people and sticks and thrashed him."


Police sources said they are looking for more suspects.

The girl and her family are yet to comment on the matter.