Odisha ZP Member Death: Dharmendra Sahoo’s Smartwatch, CCTV Hard Disk Sent To Forensic Lab

Bhubaneswar: In the latest development in BJD Zilla Parishad (ZP) member Dharmendra Sahoo’s alleged death by suicide case, the Commissionerate Police on Tuesday sent his smartwatch and the hard disk of CCTV, which was installed at his residence, for forensic examination.

According to sources, Sahoo was reportedly operating the CCTV through his smartwatch. It is suspected that he might have sent messages to somebody through the watch before his death.

Meanwhile, BJP staged a protest by blocking the Nimapada-Pipili road near Dolabedi square and demanded stringent action against State School and Mass Education Minister Samir Ranjan Das, whom the party has accused of interfering in Sahoo’s family matters leading to his death.

Also Read: Odisha Minister Speaks Out After Being Dragged Into BJD ZP Member ‘Death By Suicide’

The ZP member from Gop in Puri district was found hanging at his residence at Sishupalgarh in Odisha capital on Saturday. The postmortem report has confirmed that he died of asphyxia due to hanging and there were no external injuries on his body.

On Sunday, the Commissionerate Police sent his two mobile phones to State Forensic Science Laboratory (SFSL) here for examination after a dog squad traced those a few metres away from his house at Laxmi Vihar in Sisupalgarh the previous evening. The mobile phones, which were recovered from the bushes, were found switched off.

Also Read: Odisha ZP Member’s Suicide: Postmortem Report Out; Police To Grill Wife, Cook

Hours before allegedly ending his life, Sahoo had uploaded a video on his social media account requesting the police to examine the contents of his mobile phones.

Notably, Sahoo’s father-in-law alleged that he was addicted to alcohol and had forced his nephew, who was staying with him, to leave the house on Friday evening. The BJD leader also threatened his wife with dire consequences, following which he took her and his grandson to his place at 10 pm.