Odisha: Clueless cops wait for autopsy report to crack ACF death case

BHUBANESWAR/BERHAMPUR: Still finding the mysterious death case of Paralakhemundi Assistant Conservator of Forest (ACF) Soumya Ranjan Mohapatra a hard nut to crack, police have pinned their hopes on the postmortem and forensic team’s reports which will arrive this week.

DIG Southern Range Satya Brata Bhoi said, the ACF’s postmortem report from SCB Medical College and Hospital in Cuttack and the forensic team’s report soon is expected. A murder case has been registered and these two reports will bring more clarity on the ACF’s death, he added.

On Sunday, a team of Paralakhemundi police led by IIC Bibekananda Swain sealed the room of Bidya in the hostel of Livestock Inspectors’ Training Centre in Balangir where she is a student. The team questioned Bidya’s friends and recorded their statements. Besides, the centre’s deputy director Hemant Pradhan and four other staff were also grilled. Police also collected details about the so-called ‘bachelor party’ hosted by Bidya.

The IIC said Bidya reached the centre in a car on April 3. After staying inside for four days, she came out of the campus to withdraw cash. She hosted the party on April 11 by spending around Rs 12,000. On April 13, she left the hostel with her parents.

The police team is still in Balangir for further probe and is likely to return Paralakhemundi on Monday.
Bhoi said investigation into the case is on and the persons, who have already been interrogated, will be quizzed again if necessary.

Sources said police suspect that Soumya committed suicide by setting himself ablaze on July 12 evening. After spot examination and interrogation of the persons concerned, police believe that the ACF poured kerosene and set himself ablaze in the drawing room of his quarters. He then went near the kitchen where his wife Bidya Bharati Panda was serving food.

In the two-week long investigation, police have reportedly found that Bidya first panicked and tried to douse the fire with her hands, thereby sustaining minor burn injuries. She ran towards the verandah of the quarters to collect water and immediately raised an alarm following which their cook arrived from the nearby residence of another ACF. The duo attempted to save Soumya and doused the fire by pouring water on him.

In the meantime, another ACF arrived on the spot and a security guard rushed to Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) Sangram Behera’s quarters to inform him about the incident. Soumya was shifted to Paralakhemundi district headquarters hospital (DHH) in a Forest department’s vehicle in presence of Bidya, the cook, an ACF and DFO Behera.

As the ACF had sustained 90 per cent burns, the DHH authorities asked Bidya to shift him to Berhampur. On receiving information about the mishap from Bidya, her parents contacted their distant relative Mamata Panda, the officer-in-charge of Gurandi police station, to assist her. Mamata was present near the ambulance when Bidya went back to their quarters to collect Soumya’s wallet and ATM card. The ACF was admitted to a private hospital in Cuttack where he succumbed on July 13.

A police officer said, “One bottle of kerosene and matchbox were seized from the spot. The ceiling fan in the drawing room of the ACF’s  quarters, some portion of the kitchen and courtyard’s doors had turned black due to the fire. A portion of the courtyard’s skylight had melted too.”