Bhubaneswar: The Crime Branch of Odisha Police on Wednesday stepped up its probe into the death of Gobinda Sahu, the prime accused in Mamita Maher murder case, in Kantabanji jail in Balangir district.
According to reports, Crime Branch sleuths along with scientific and cyber experts, who had reached Kantabanji onTuesday, visited the jail as part of the investigation and collected certain materials from the prison premises besides thoroughly examining different places inside.
The team proceeded to the spot along with the scientific team and examined jail staff and under-trial prisoners. The sleuths also seized relevant official documents in presence of witnesses under seizure list.
They seized a towel and a kitchen cloth, one pair of slippers belonging to Sahu. A wooden log was also collected from the spot of hanging by the scientific team. All these were packed and sealed properly in presence of witnesses. The investigation is on and the entire team is camping at Kantabanji, official sources said.
Notably, Sahu was found hanging inside the jail premises ahead of his scheduled production in a local court on Tuesday. Jail authorities rushed him to hospital, where doctors declared him dead.
As the incident triggered a controversy, Director General of Police (DGP) Sunil Kumar Bansal ordered a Crime Branch probe into the alleged suicide.
Meanwhile, preliminary inquiry conducted by Sambalpur Prisons range DIG Anasaya Jena showed that the incident happened primarily due to negligence on the part of the on-duty warder of the jail. The warder was suspended with immediate effect.
A 4-page inquiry report sent by Jena to the prison headquarters said that prima facie, this seems to be a case of negligence by the jail warder. The jail has an area of 2 acres and it is not easy to keep an eye on everyone all the time. But the warder should have watched Sahu’s movement in the jail, sources said.
Sahu hanged himself with a towel from a window on the backside of the jail kitchen and the site is out of the CCTV surveillance in jail and is not covered by any closed circuit cameras.
Mamita, a resident of Jharni village in Balangir’s Turekela block, was working as a teacher at Sunshine English Medium School at Mahaling in Kalahandi district. The 24-year-old teacher went missing on October 8, 2021. Alleging involvement of the school’s managing committee president Sahu in her disappearance, Mamita’s family members lodged a complaint with the police. On October 19, charred remains of Mamita’s body were exhumed from the construction site of a stadium near the school.
Sahu was then arrested for abducting and murdering Mamita with help of his driver Radheshyam Chandi.
On October 8, Sahu reportedly received Mamita at Chandotara. He then drove her in his car to Bhawanipatna for shopping. Later, both went to the Manikeswari temple and on the way back, he strangulated her to death on the back seat of the car.
Earlier this month, principal of Mahaling College Ranjit Sahu and a management committee member Kruti Chandan were arrested on the charges of influencing witnesses in the murder case.
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