Odisha crime branch starts probe into social worker's death

BHUBANESWAR: The state crime branch on Thursday took over the investigation from the government railway police (GRP) into the recent death of noted social worker Aditya Dash, whose body was found along the railway track at Lingaraj passenger halt in Bhubaneswar on July 7.
The crime branch probe followed an order issued by the state director general of police Abhay against the backdrop of allegations from different quarters that the GRP failed to unearth the cause of Aditya’s death.
“Our investigating team has collected the case details, including the FIR copy from the GRP station in Bhubaneswar and visited the spot where Aditya’s body was found. The probe will be conducted from all angles. All those, who are directly and indirectly linked with the case, will be questioned,” Crime Branch’s additional director general Soumendra Priyadarshi said.
The GRP, which had suspected Aditya might have committed suicide by jumping in front of a running train, subsequently registered a murder case after his family members and friends alleged that he was killed by anonymous persons, who had threatened him for taking out an anti-liquor campaign in the city some time back.
GRP also questioned a number of persons, including Aditya’s friends, relatives and members of his NGO. GRP had also probed possible financial mismanagement in Aditya’s NGO and his suspected marital discord. But their probe seemed to have lost pace after an officer, who was part of the investigation, tested positive for Covid virus last week. The railway police had recovered a diary from Aditya’s room and said the content of the notes indicated he wanted to end his life.
Aditya’s family members welcomed the Crime Branch probe. “I sincerely hope that the Crime Branch probes the murder angle as my husband could not have committed suicide. He had no reasons to end his life. He was a great motivational speaker and helped many people to get rid of their stress,” Aditya’s wife Bidyashree said.
On July 22, the union minister Pratap Sarangi wrote to the chief minister Naveen Patnaik and sought a direction to the commissionerate police to assist the GRP in unravelling the mystery behind Aditya’s death.