Odisha Forester Died By Suicide Over Harassment By DFO For PC, Alleges Family

Bhubaneswar: A day after forester Sanjaya Nayak was found hanging at his official quarters in Odisha’s Bhawanipatna, his wife on Thursday levelled serious allegation against Rayagada DFO Debendra Kumar Behera, holding him responsible for his death by suicide.

Priyanka Subudhi, the wife of the deceased, accused the DFO of mentally torturing Nayak for PC (abbreviation used for percentage to describe bribe money in common parlance) from different projects of the department under the range for the last few years. “My husband ended his life because of the DFO. He used to give Rs 20,000-30,000 to the DFO every month and I am aware of it. The DFO had been torturing him and he took the extreme step unable to bear the pressure,” she said, demanding justice for her husband.

Behera is also the Silviculturist at the Silviculture Division, Rayagada.

The forester’s brother Rabi Narayan Nayak has lodged a complaint at Town police station, alleging that the 35-year-old, who was working in the forest research wing at Jaring for the last four years, was continuously pressurised for PC by the DFO.

In a video message, he further stated that the forester had mentioned about the PCs in the suicide note purportedly written by him and found in his pocket. “My brother mentioned about Rs 7 lakh PC that he had give to the silviculture officer last year and Rs 2.5 lakh during Ganesh Puja. He had also installed an AC in his house and also dug a borewell in his house. It also mentioned about Rs 40,000 which was given to a temple,” he said.

The DFO had also threatened to halt his promotion and suspend him by implicating him in a false case while demanding more PC, the forester’s brother alleged, adding that the last straw perhaps was his recent transfer to Balangir.

The forester is survived by his wife and one-year-old twin daughters.

Statement of the DFO concerned could be obtained on the matter.