Archive · 17 Sep 2026
15 Years After Tripura Teacher Vanished, Assam Graves Exhumed
Ashish Som was a school teacher from Agartala who disappeared in 2011.
He left home for work but never came back.
People who said they had kidnapped him asked his family for money.
The family reportedly paid about Rs 25 lakh, but Som was still not found.
Police now suspect he may have been killed.
Around the same time, three unidentified bodies were buried in Assam.
Officials dug up all three sets of remains because they did not know which grave might be connected to Som.
Scientists will compare DNA from the bones with DNA from Som’s family.
Three unidentified bodies buried in Assam’s Sribhumi district nearly 15 years ago were exhumed for DNA testing.
The exhumation followed an order from a district court in Tripura and involved Tripura Police, Assam officials and Som’s family.
Ashish Som, an Agartala school teacher, disappeared in May 2011 after leaving home for work.
People claiming to have kidnapped Som allegedly demanded and received about Rs 25 lakh, but he never returned.
Bone samples will be compared with DNA from Som’s family to determine whether any remains belong to him.
- Who
- Ashish Som, his family, Tripura Police, Assam officials and investigators are involved.
- What
- Three unidentified bodies were exhumed for DNA profiling in the investigation into Som’s disappearance.
- When
- Som disappeared in May 2011; the exhumation took place nearly 15 years later, on Wednesday.
- Where
- The remains were exhumed from a government cemetery in Sribhumi district, Assam.
- Why
- Investigators want to determine whether any of the remains belong to Som, following a court order.
- Missing person
- Ashish Som, a school teacher and Agartala resident
- Disappearance
- May 2011
- Reported ransom
- About Rs 25 lakh, paid on different occasions
- Remains exhumed
- Three unidentified bodies
- Exhumation site
- A government cemetery in Sribhumi district, Assam
- DNA process
- Bone samples will be compared with DNA from Som’s family members
- Legal basis
- An order from a district court in Tripura