Rayagada DFO Suspended Over Odisha Forester’s Death

Bhawanipatna: After the alleged suicide of forester Sanjay Nayak in Odisha triggered a major row, Rayagada Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) Debendra Behera has been suspended over the incident.

The family members of Nayak had blamed the Rayagada DFO for the extreme step taken by the forester, whose body was found hanging in his official residence on September 18.

Official sources said that the Odisha Government on Saturday issued a suspension order in this regard after a probe into the incident. Behera was also quizzed for two days during the departmental probe.

After Sanjay’s death, his wife, Priyanka Subudhi, accused the DFO of mentally harassing her husband over demands for commission from departmental projects in the region. She claimed that her husband took his own life due to the unbearable pressure.

A case has been filed against Behera at the Bhawanipatna Town police station.

The Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (PCCF) had directed the Chief Conservator of Forests (T&D), Cuttack Circle, to conduct an inquiry and submit a report on the matter. A departmental inquiry into the incident was subsequently conducted.

The departmental inquiry was conducted as the police had found a suicide note while recovering the body of Nayak. The forester was stated to have blamed Rayagada DFO for forcing him to take the extreme step.

Following their allegation, PCCF Devidutta Biswal had said that the department would take stern action if evidence is found in police report against the rorest employee.

Priyanka Subudhi, the wife of the deceased, had 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 was 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.