Zubair Ahmed was a resident of Wimberlygunj in South Andaman.(Twitter/@zubairpbl)Zubair Ahmed, 48, a senior journalist based in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands was found dead inside a school, with police saying that prima facie, it seemed like a suicide and that an investigation was underway. He was a resident of Wimberlygunj in South Andaman.
Ahmed, who had been critical in social media posts of some actions of the Andaman and Nicobar Administration, was arrested in April 2020 after he tweeted asking why families were being placed under home quarantine for speaking with Covid-19 patients over the phone. He was booked under sections 51 (punishment for obstruction) and 54 (punishment for false warning) of the Disaster Management Act, 2005, as well as sections 188 (disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant), 269 (negligent act likely to spread infection of disease), 270 (malignant act likely to spread infection of disease) and 505(1)(b) (causing fear or alarm to the public) of the IPC. In 2021, the case against him was quashed by the Calcutta High Court.
“We recovered the body, with a rope around the neck, on Thursday night inside the Crescent Public School in Wimberlygunj, South Andaman. After post-mortem, the body was handed over to family members. Prima facie it seems like a suicide, but investigation is on,” a senior police officer from South Aandaman said.
According to family members, Ahmed was the administrative head of the school.
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“On Thursday, he returned home at around 3.30 pm and spent time with his wife and three children. After some time, he took his scooty and went out. When he did not return late evening, we searched for him. His body was found in the school premises with a rope around his neck… Forensic personnel found two pen drives from his pocket,” Ahmed’s cousin Najeeb Siddiqui told The Indian Express over the phone.
Siddiqui said Ahmed had been suffering from depression for the last 10 years and had been undergoing treatment. “Last Sunday, I met him and he was fine. It was not his illness. But I think he was depressed that he cannot whole heartedly practice full time journalism. He was trying to bring out his own newspaper and even named it ‘Sunday Islander’. He spoke with me and others about the project and we told him we will support it. But somehow the project could not be done. This may be the cause, we do not know. We do not believe that because of his illness he committed suicide,” Siddiqui added.
Ahmed’s last rites were performed on Friday.
According to friends and family members, Ahmed continued to write pieces online after his arrest and bail. He had also recently been very active on social media, criticising certain moves of the administration.
Denis Giles, editor of The Andaman Chronicle and a friend of Ahmed’s, told The Indian Express: “I cannot accept that he committed suicide because of his mental illness and depression. He was on medication and was open about it. He used to share it with everyone, including me. Recently, he was very active on Twitter highlighting wrongdoings of the administration. There must be some other reason (for his death).”
Another friend of his, Muhammed Ali, said: “We were childhood friends. I am shocked after hearing the news. He had an illness for a decade. He visited hospitals in Bengaluru and was under medication. But I do not think that drove him to suicide. Maybe there are other issues.”
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