Rourkela: Police have intensified investigation into the ‘mysterious death’ of Rourkela assistant collector Sushmita Minz on the basis of her call details record (CDR).
“The CDR was analysed and accordingly, people were called for examination. Yesterday, her uncle and maternal aunt were questioned and today, the person who had received her last call was summoned,” Deputy SP (DSP) of Investigative Unit on Crime Against Women (IUCAW) Banita Majhi, who is currently investigating the case, said on Tuesday.
She added that the CDR has revealed some clues into the death.
Notably, Sushmita was found dead in a pond of newly-constructed Sensory Park here on September 19 evening. The autopsy report has attributed her death to drowning and ruled out possibility of homicide. She was working in the office of the Rourkela additional district magistrate.
Amid public outrage, Rourkela SP Mitrabhanu Mohapatra on September 28 ordered an inquiry by DSP-rank officer into her unnatural death.
On October 6, the DSP had questioned Sushmita’s husband Sushil Topno, a banker posted in neighbouring Chhattisgarh, for over two hours at the office of Rourkela SP. Assisted by forensic experts and fire services personnel, Majhi had earlier searched for clues in the pond in the park. CCTV footage of the hotel, where Sushmita stayed, was also seized for investigation. She had also questioned a couple of government officials in connection with the death.
Alleging foul play and involvement of government officials in her death, her family as well as tribal outfits in the districts, however, have been demanding a CBI probe into her death. Thousands of tribals, mostly women, from across Sundargarh staged a protest in front of the office of district collector Parag Harshad Gavali on October 6. In a memorandum addressed to Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, they described the tribal officer’s death as a ‘pre-planned murder’ and sought a CBI probe under the supervision of a retired judge of either the Supreme Court or high court.
In his complaint, the assistant collector’s brother Sandip Minz had alleged that his sister was subjected to mental torture at her workplace and sought an investigation against the Sundargarh collector, Rourkela ADM, Gurundia BDO and CDPO.
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