Odisha ACF’s Death: Police To Quiz Victim’s Family Once Again

Paralakhemundi: Gajapati district police investigating the death of Assistant Conservator of Forests (ACF) of Paralakhemundi Soumya Ranjan Mohapatra, will visit Balasore and Balangir districts on Saturday.

IIC of Paralakhemundi Town police station Bibekanand Swain said one team will visit the Livestock Inspectors’ Training Centre in Balangir district where Bidyabharati Panda, the deceased’s wife, had organized a bachelors’ party on April 11.

Another team will visit Begunia village in Khaira block in Balasore district to interrogate Soumya Ranjan’s family members for the second time.

Also on Saturday, the deceased’s elder brother, Ranjan Mohapatra, expressed displeasure and doubts over the police investigation. How come the wife, who was present in the house, could not know when his brother was burning, he told the media.

The brother claimed that it was a pre-planned murder and questioned Bidyabharati’s motive in handing over the house key to the Forest Department after the incident.

Ranjan said after sustaining severe burn injuries, his brother was referred to the district headquarters hospital for treatment from where he was referred to MKCG Medical College and Hospital in Berhampur. “But why instead of admitting him there, my brother was again referred to SCB Medical College and Hospital in Cuttack?”

Talking about the relation between the ACF and his wife, he said Bidyabharati’s family has claimed that there was no misunderstanding between them. However, the letters written by Bidyabharati about her husband tell a different story, he added.

On the visit of Bidyabharati to Balangir, Ranjan said he had told the media about her visit earlier. Now, the question is who had accompanied her to Balangir, he said.

He also wanted to know the identity of the person who had accompanied Bidyabharati to Bhubaneswar.

On Friday, Gajapati SP Tapan Kumar Patnaik had given a clean chit to Gajapati DFO Sangram Keshari Behera after his interrogation in connection with the ACF’s death.

Also Read: Odisha: DFO Has No Link With ACF’s Wife Bidyabharati, Says Gajapati SP