Odisha ACF’s Death: Know The Agreement Between The Couple; Lapses In Treatment & Probe

Balasore: Parlakhemundi Assistant Conservator of Forest (ACF) Soumya Rajan Mohapatra’s mother Tulasi Mohapatra on Monday revealed about an unsigned agreement, which said that his wife Bidyabharati Panda would be the sole owner of all his properties and salary from July 9.

She further said they had decided to keep no physical relationship for a year.

Stating that they shared a strained relationship, the grieving mother questioned the thought behind this agreement. “I suspect that Bidyabharati insisted on such an agreement as she had decided to elope with another person after the death of my son,” she said.

She said that the couple used to have frequent quarrels within few months of the marriage. “They had a heated exchange of words one night and my daughter-in-law left the house after breaking her bangles and wiping the vermillion from her forehead. After a frantic search, my son found her in the official quarters of the DFO,” she said.

She further alleged that her daughter-in-law was in a relationship before the marriage and her family was privy to it.

FATHER”S APPEAL TO DGP

The ACF’s father Abhiram Mohapatra has also submitted a memorandum to the Director General of Police (DGP) in Cuttack, demanding a lie detection test of his daughter-in-law, cook Manmath Kumbha and DFO Sangram Keshari Behera to ascertain the veracity of their statement.

Abhiram has urged the DGP to conduct a thorough investigation into the reasons why Soumya was taken to Cuttack instead of being admitted to MKCG Medical College and Hospital in Berhampur. He further questioned why the ambulance, carrying his son, was detained in front of the DFO office in Paralakhemundi for nearly an hour.

“Gajapati IIC Mamatarani Panda, who had detained the ambulance van in front of the DFO office, is a relative of my daughter-in-law. I have requested the DGP to bring her under the purview of investigation,” he added.

Also Read: ACF Soumya Death Mystery Deepens: Wife Tells Her Side Of The Story

POLICE INVESTIGATION

Meanwhile, a six-member team of the Paralakhemundi Town Police station arrived in Begunia village in Khaira block of Balasore district to interrogate the family members of the deceased ACF.

Acting on the directive of the Southern Range DIG Satyabrata Sahu, the team led by the Gajapati SP Tapan Kumar Patnaik, IIC of Paralakhemundi Town Police Station Bibekanand Swain and sub-inspector Trinath Patnaik will collect the details from the family members and later leave for Kaptipada in Mayurbhanj district to interrogate Bidyabharati and her family members, police sources said.

The Gajapati SP informed the media that another investigating team will visit the office of the DFO in Paralakhemundi later in the day and collect detailed information about the duty hours of the deceased ACF before and after his marriage.

Also Read: Odisha Forest Officer Death: Police To Grill ACF’s Widow, Mother & Brother

LAPSES

According to a local news channel, the doctor of the district headquarters hospital (DHH) in Gajapati had referred Soumya to the MKCG without treating him. Though Dr K Patro had treated Soumya Ranjan at the Paralakhemundi DHH, another doctor K Behera referred him to the MKCG, the report added. The records of the hospital also have discrepancies.

Posers are also being raised why Soumya was not rushed to Visakhapatnam which is closer to Paralakhemundi and instead shifted to Cuttack, which is more than 300 km away from the district headquarters.

Also Read: Odisha Bytes 10 Unanswered Questions That Could Unravel Odisha Forest Officer Death Mystery

There have also been grave lapses in the police investigation as well as securing of evidence. The ACF’s quarters were not in police custody till the forensic team reached for evidence collection four days later. Apparently, it was with DFO, sources said. 

When the forensic team reached the house last Friday, it found no signs of a fire mishap, which his wife claimed to have lead to his Soumya’s death. There was no stench of burnt human flesh or gutted property in the house, the ACF was set afire elsewhere and later shifted to the residence as part of an orchestrated murder, the family members of the forest officer alleged.

Also Read: Mystery Deepens: No Evidence To Suggest Odisha Forest Officer Caught Fire In Official Quarters