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

Bhubaneswar: The postmortem report of BJD Zilla Parishad member Dharmendra Sahoo, who was found hanging at his residence in Odisha capital on Saturday, revealed that he died of asphyxiation and there were no external injuries on his body, police sources informed on Monday.

“It was antemortem hanging. The death was due to asphyxiation and venous congestion and there was no injury mark on the body,” said Capital Hospital Director Dr Laxmidhar Sahoo.

A five-member police team, which includes IIC of Dhauli police station and three woman cops, headed by an additional DCP will visit his residence later in the day to question his wife, family members and cook to ascertain the reason behind his decision to end his life.

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.

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.

Also Read: 2 Mobile Phones Sent For Forensic Test; Cong Seeks Impartial Probe

Notably, the 48-year-old BJD leader’s death took a controversial turn after BJP accused School and Mass Education Minister Samir Ranjan Dash of interfering in his family matters.  A Congress delegation led by senior party leader Shivananda Ray also met the DCP and requested him to conduct an impartial probe into the matter.