Odisha ACF’s Death: Crime Branch Grills 3 Doctors Of Gajapati DHH; Mother Questions ‘Dying Declaration’

Paralakhemundi/Balasore: Intensifying its probe into the death ofParalakhemundi Assistant Conservator of Forests (ACF)  Soumya Ranjan Mohapatra, the Crime Branch team began the interrogation of three doctors at the chamber of the Chief District Medical Officer (CDMO) here on Wednesday.

According to sources, the state investigating agency is grilling District Medical Officer (DMO) Dr Pramod Kumar Panda and the two doctors – Kishore Chandra Behera and Abhilash Panda.

While the DMO and the Paralakhemundi tehsildar Achyutanand Jani were present while the dying declaration of the ACF was recorded, the other two doctors had treated him.

The Crime Branch is most likely to interrogate the tehsildar during the post-lunch session.

Also Read: Odisha ACF Death Case: Gajapati Collector Was Present On Night Of Incident, Says Watchman

Reliable sources said that the Crime Branch will focus on the circumstances in which the dying declaration of the ACF was recorded soon after he was admitted to the District Headquarters Hospital (DHH) and who had ordered for the same.

Apart from this, the Crime Branch will also collect details about the condition of the ACF at the time of his admission to the DHH, the mode and duration of his treatment, the possibility of his survival and who had referred him to Cuttack.

Also Read: Odisha ACF’s Death: Did Local Police Ignore Crucial Angles In Probe?

On Tuesday, the Crime Branch had grilled watchman Santosh Biswal and gardener Ajay Behera engaged in the office of the DFO, at the guesthouse inside Paralakhemundi police station premises in the morning and later the ambulance driver and the helper, who had taken him to Cuttack, at the CDMO office in the evening.

During the interrogation, the watchman had told the Crime Branch and later the media that Gajapati collector Lingaraj Panda was present at the official residence of the ACF at 8 pm on July 12 and later while he was being shifted to Paralakhemundi DHH.

Meanwhile, replying to a question on whether she is satisfied with the Crime Branch investigation, Tulasi Mohapatra, the mother of the deceased ACF, hoped that the current investigation will reveal the truth behind his death.

“I hope that the Crime Branch will get the details of the circumstances under which the doctors had treated him at the DHH. The district collector, who was also present at the quarters of my son, did not inform us about the condition of my son, leave alone expressing condolence. Why had he gone to my son’s quarters and the residence of the DFO?” she asked.

By the time her son was referred to Cuttack, he had neither any cloth on his body nor there was an oxygen mask on his face, she alleged.

The hapless mother also expressed doubts over the dying declaration recorded at the Paralakhemundi DHH. “My son had a stammering problem since childhood. Besides, when I saw the body of my son at the Ashwini Hospital in Cuttack, I found that a portion of his tongue had been removed. In such circumstances, how my son could give the dying declaration?” Tulasi wondered.

Also Read: Odisha Crime Branch Begins Grilling Five Persons In ACF’s Death