Odisha Woman Cricketer’s Death: Know What Handwriting Report Of Letter Says

Bhubaneswar: The handwriting analysis of woman cricketer Rajashree Swain, who was found hanging from a tree inside a forest in Odisha’s Cuttack district last month, showed that the note recovered near her body was written by her.

Sources said the handwriting bureau of the State Forensic Science Laboratory (SFSL) has given its findings about the handwritten letter, purportedly written by Rajashree and recovered from her scooter’s dickey.

As per the findings, the note recovered from the scooter dickey near the site matched with the handwriting of Rajashree. She reportedly held two people responsible, including a coach and former Odisha Cricket Association (OCA) member, for her death.

The police had sent the letter and some other notes collected from Rajashree’s house to the handwriting bureau of the SFSL for an analysis and all these were found to have been written by her, the sources said.

Earlier, the postmortem report of Rajashree had revealed that she had died due to asphyxiation. The report also stated that she had injuries on her head. However, the viscera report is still awaited which can bring more clarity on her death.

Rajashree was found hanging inside the forest which was just a kilometre away from a petrol pump that she visited for the last time. Police are verifying the CCTV footage of the petrol pump.

The 26-year-old cricketer went missing on January 11, a day after she failed to make it to the final list of 16 players for the BCCI Senior Women’s one-day trophy (BCCI Domestic Season 2022-23).

Locals spotted a scooter and helmet on the Bramhanabast-Kapursingh forest road on January 12 and informed police, which started searching for her and later found her hanging from a tree on January 13.

Though the police suspect it to be a case of suicide, family members of Rajashree, a right-arm fast bowler and a middle-order batter, alleged that she was murdered “as the body bore injury marks and her eyes were damaged”.

Accusing OCA of favouritism, the cricketer’s sister said she was deliberately excluded from the team despite being an all-rounder and a good performer.