Cuttack: Bidya Bharati Panda, wife of deceased Assistant Conservator of Forests (ACF) Soumya Ranjan Mohapatra, today got interim relief from the Orissa High Court as it stayed a Non-Bailable Warrant (NBW) issued against the woman in the case of death of her husband.

The NBW was issued by the court of Sub-Divisional Judicial Magistrate (SDJM), Paralakhemundi.

The High Court directed not to take any stringent action against the accused.

The next hearing of the petition will be held on July 27.

She had moved the High Court challenging the issuance of NBW by the lower court.

Earlier, Bidya Bharati was not found at her village in Mayurbhanj district when police had gone there to execute the NBW.

The SDJM court had on June 30 issued NBW against Bidya Bharati, former Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) Sangram Behera and cook Manmath Kumbha.

The SDJM court issued the NBW against the three accused after they failed to depose in connection with the case despite repeated reminders.

The court has directed the three accused to depose before it on July 7, sources said.

The court had initiated criminal conspiracy proceedings against the three accused as per a petition filed by the deceased ACF’s father Abhiram Mohapatra.

According to reports, the ACF was found in critical condition with burn injuries at his residence in Paralakhemundi on July 12, 2021. Mohapatra succumbed to his injuries while undergoing treatment at a private hospital in Cuttack the next day.

On July 14, his family lodged a complaint against the former Gajapati DFO, Bidya Bharati and Manmath Kumbha alleging murder. Considering the gravity of the incident, the state government had handed over the probe to the Crime Branch on August 14.

On October 8, 2021, the Crime Branch gave clean chit to Behera and Kumbha but booked Bidya Bharati under sections 304-A (causing death by negligence) and 285 (negligent conduct with respect to fire or combustible matter) of IPC.

The agency termed the incident as an ‘accidental death’ making it clear that Behera and Kumbha had no role in it. Further, the Crime Branch said that the agency during the probe found no evidence of any relation between the DFO and Bidya Bharati.