Odisha ACF’s Death: Why Did ‘Policewoman’ Stop Ambulance At Forest Gate?

Paralakhemundi: Was critical time lost in admitting severely-burnt Assistant Conservator of Forests (ACF) of Paralakhemundi Soumyaranjan Mohapatra to hospital?

In a new twist to the sensational case, the driver of the ambulance carrying the ACF to hospital has told investigators that a woman in police uniform had asked him to stop the vehicle at a forest gate on the fateful night.

During his interrogation at a police station in Paralakhmendi on Thursday night, the ambulance driver said he had started driving to a hospital with the ACF around 11 pm or 12 midnight.

He said a “madam” in police uniform asked him to stop the ambulance at the forest gate. The ambulance remained there for around 15 minutes till the ACF’s wife reached the spot and accompanied him, he added.

“A SUV also followed the ambulance. When we reached Gopalpur, the patient’s wife asked me to take him to SCB Medical College and Hospital in Cuttack. I drove straight to Cuttack and reached around 7 am,” the driver told police.

In a related development, Paralakhemundi police and Crime Branch are scheduled to question the DFO of Gajapati, Sangram Behera, and woman police officer Mamata Rani Panda on Friday.