Family seeks probe into Odisha actor Ranjit’s death

Odisha Sun Times Bureau
Bhubaneswar, Feb 8:

With mystery shrouding over the death of a popular actor of Odisha television industry, the family members today sought probe into his death suspecting foul play.

The family members of the 38-year-old actor Ranjit Pattnaik alias Raja alleged that he has been murdered and demanded a thorough probe into the incident to unravel the mystery.

A relative of the deceased alleged that he suspects that his nephew has been murdered as the copassengers who had accompanied Raja to an event in Balasore district on Saturday night were missing from the scene.

“I suspect that Raja has died in an accident. I didn’t know that he had gone to Bhadrak. He was accompanied by an actress and two others. Raja’s mother got a call at around 5 am yesterday that her son has met with an accident and they are taking him to SCB Medical College and Hospital for treatment. The caller had made the call from Raja’s mobile phone asking them to come to the hospital. After reaching the hospital, I came to know that he was referred to the hospital in a 108 ambulance from Bhadrak district headquarters hospital. There was nobody near the body which aggravates my suspicion. The body was lying in the verandah of the casualty ward like an unclaimed body. Those who had admitted him to the hospital should have been present beside his body,” Amiya Pattnaik, uncle of Ranjit said.

On the other hand, the television actress, who had accompanied Ranjit to the event at Taranga in Jamujhadi area under Simulia block, claimed that she came to know about the incident from the driver that Ranjit had fallen into a ditch.

Actress Jessy, Pralay and driver had accompanied Ranjit to the event.

“We were invited as guests to a theatre “Kalinga Kanya” on Saturday night. We returned from the programme at around 2 am. While we were moving towards Bhubaneswar, Raja asked to stop the car to pass urine. He alighted and didn’t return for quite some time. When I checked with the driver and Pralay, they told me not to worry. In the meantime, an ambulance reached there and took him to Bhadrak hospital where his fractured hands were plastered. He was then referred to SCB Medical College and Hospital where he succumbed,” Jessy said.

Notably, Ranjit was declared dead at SCB Medical College and Hospital yesterday who reportedly fell off the road before Tarinigada over bridge near Jamujhadi in Balasore district while he had gone to pass urine.

“From Bhadrak, I called up my mother and uncle and told them about the incident. As I was broke and unable to speak to anyone, Pralay called up Ranjit’s sister and her husband to inform about the incident. I couldn’t dare to call up Raja’s mother as he was their only son,” the actress added.

It may be mentioned that the actor began his career as a choreographer before stepping into the world of acting as an album actor. Later, he accelerated his career to television serial and Ollywood movies where he gathered many accolades for his acting skills.

He has earned a name for himself for his acting in popular television serials like Devi, Uansi Kanya, Rajakanya, Pari and Sehnai.