Police begin probe into Odisha civil servant's suicide

BHUBANESWAR: As Bollywood celeb Sushant Singh Rajput’s recent suicide triggered nationwide debate on stress management and treatment of mental health issues, the commissionerate police have started a probe to crack the mystery behind the alleged suicide by a newly recruited Odisha finance service (OFS) officer, who was found hanging in his home in Khandagiri area here on Saturday evening.
Abhilash Swaroop Mahapatra (34), a 2017-batch OFS officer, was scheduled to join the special treasury in Bhubaneswar on Monday. Police said it would have been his first day in service on Monday under Odisha government’s finance department. His body was found hanging in his own house in Dumduma area. His wife, who also works in a government directorate in Bhubaneswar, and two children (5-year-old daughter and 2-month-old boy) were present in the house when Mahapatra resorted to the drastic step by locking himself in a room.
“We did not find any foul play behind his death. He hanged himself to death. The exact motive of his suicide is being investigated. But, prima facie we suspect he ended his life out of frustration over marital discord,” additional commissioner of police-cum-DCP Anup Kumar Sahoo said.
Police said they were questioning a family, who lived in the house’s ground floor on rent. “We also questioned the officer’s maid and his wife. They said he was in deep stress over family matter. They did not disclose much. We have registered a case of unnatural death and are inquiring into the matter,” Sahoo said.
Police sources said Mahapatra, who had a bright career having knack in finance and economy, was a former banker. “His family members told us that he was a brilliant student. He used to work with a nationalized bank and cracked Odisha civil services in 2017. After training and probation, he was scheduled to join the office of the special treasury here on Monday,” another police officer said.
The banker-turned-state civil servant belonged to Titlagarh area in Balangir district. Sources said his parents and younger brother stayed in Titlagarh. On Monday, state women and child development minister Tukuni Sahu, who represents Titlagarh assembly constituency, called up the additional CP Sahoo and inquired about the progress of investigation into his death.
Mahapatra’s batch mates were shocked over his death. “I still cannot believe Abhilash left us. Until recently, we had discussed about Sushant Singh Rajput’s suicide, stress and frustration. We never felt nor realized Abhilash was in stress. Police should probe and arrest those, who might have abetted his suicide,” said one of his batch mates on condition of anonymity.