Balasore: The death case of Assistant Conservator of Forests (ACF) Soumya Ranjan Mohapatra became murkier on Saturday with the counsel for the victim’s family accusing Gajapati police of tardy investigation.
The counsel, Partha Sarathi Nayak, questioned the Gajapati SP’s clean chit to DFO Sangram Keshari Behera after interrogating the latter’s office staff.
“How could the SP give a clean chit to the DFO on the basis of the questioning of his office staff? Will any staffer ever say anything against the DFO as long as he continues in Paralakhemundi? The police can get the true details from them only after the DFO is transferred,” Nayak told the media.
He also claimed that the police may be unaware that the DFO and the deceased’s wife, Bidyabharati Panda, might be in contact with each other on different SIM numbers. “I doubt that the police have not investigated this angle,” he added.
Nayak also alleged that the police were trying to destroy evidence to save the DFO. “If the protector becomes the predator, there will be no law in the state and the victim will be deprived of the justice,” he said.
