Paralakhemundi: Interrogation of Gurandi police station officer-in-charge (OIC) Mamta Panda in connection with the death of Assistant Conservator of Forests (ACF) Soumya Ranjan Mohapatra, began on Friday evening.
She is being questioned at Paralakhemundi police station, sources said.
The OIC’s role came under the scanner after the dead ACF’s father Abhiram Mohapatra accused her of using her influence to hush up the investigation. He further accused her of detaining the ambulance carrying the critically injured Soumya to the hospital for an hour at the behest of his daughter-in-law Bidyabharati Panda. “The OIC stopped the ambulance midway for an hour. She wanted my son to die without reaching the hospital,” he alleged.
AMBULANCE DRIVER”S VERSION
The driver of the ambulance carrying the ACF to the hospital told a local news channel that a woman in police uniform had asked him to stop the vehicle at a forest gate on the fateful night.
The ambulance remained there for around 15 minutes till the ACF’s wife reached the spot and accompanied him, he added.
“An SUV also followed the ambulance. When we reached Gopalpur, the patient’s wife asked me to take him to SCB Medical College and Hospital in Cuttack. I drove straight to Cuttack and reached there around 7 am,” the driver added.
He was interrogated at a police station in Paralakhmendi on Thursday night.
FATHER-IN-LAW SPEAKS
The OIC’s father-in-law, Narendra Padhi, had earlier told the media that she belongs to the same village where Bidyabharati’s maternal uncle lives. “Bidyabharati used to visit her uncle’s house and both become acquaintances. She might have asked Mamata for help on the day when Soumya was being shifted to a hospital,” he said.
Also Read: Role Of IOC Under Scanner In Odisha ACF’s Death
DFO QUESTIONED
Earlier in the day, police had grilled DFO Sangram Keshari Behera for over 3 hours. Investigating officer Vivekananda Swain told media that he refuted being in a relationship with the ACF’s wife.
Soumya’s father had accused him of plotting to murder his son with Bidyabharati. His mother had told the media that her daughter-in-law left the house following a heated exchange of words with the ACF, who later found her at the official quarters of the DFO.
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