Mysterious Firing In Odisha’s Sonepur: MLA’s PSO Shot Cousin Dead Before Killing Self, Says IGP

Bhubaneswar: Two days after a police personnel and his cousin were found dead in a pool of blood in Odisha’s Sonepur district, Police on Thursday claimed to have cracked the mystery behind the incident.

Notably, Manoj Jhankar, Personal Security Officer (PSO) of BJD MLA Niranjan Pujari, and his cousin brother Seshadev Jhankar were found dead under mysterious circumstances on August 6.

Speaking on the mysterious incident, Northern Range IG Himansu Lal said that the police personnel shot his brother dead before killing himself.

Lal ruled out past enmity or dispute as a reason behind incident and said scientific evidence and statements made by more than 15 eyewitnesses showed that Manoj was in an inebriated condition before the shooting took place.

Circumstantial evidence showed that Manoj first blank fired before shooting his brother dead. Later, he shot himself dead using the police service pistol, the IGP said, adding that the postmortem reports will be available by the evening.

Following the incident, Binika Police had detained two persons from Chulimala village in connection with the incident.

It may be noted that the bodies of Manoj and his cousin brother Seshadev with bullet injuries on their heads were found lying in a pool of blood in field in Chulimalagaon in the district on August 6. The two were rushed by villagers to hospital where doctors declared both dead.