Nayagarh: Mystery shrouded the death of a forest personnel whose half-burnt body was recovered by police following a fire outbreak in his house in Baramasi Danda area of Odisha's Nayagarh district on Friday.

The deceased was identified as Sisir Sahu, a Forester in Sarankul Pancharida range of the district. Sahu, a resident of Manpur, was staying in Nayagarh town's Baramasi Danda locality. He had joined the range as Forester two months back.

His death comes a day after a man named Suryamani Pradhan was mistakenly shot by poachers while collecting mangoes in a forest in the same range. In a desperate attempt to cover up the crime, the accused had tried to burn his body which was later recovered by police. The sheer coincidence of the two similar deaths has triggered speculation over the nature of the Forester's death. It is still unclear whether Sahu attempted suicide by self-immolation or was killed and then set on fire as an attempt to mislead investigation.

As per reports, Sahu along with wife Namita and son Abhisekh was at home when a fire suddenly broke out late in the night. Few moments later, Namita came out of the house screaming for help. She sustained minor burn injuries while their son had a narrow escape and was unhurt. A two-wheeler and other valuables were also gutted in the blaze. 

Fire service personnel, on being alerted by the neighbours, rushed to the spot and doused the fire. They recovered the half-charred body of Sahu who was trapped inside the house. Namita was rushed to the hospital after sustaining burn injuries.

Official sources said the exact reason behind the fire outbreak and Sahu's death is not established yet. Neighbours shared that Sahu and his wife often got into fights which could have triggered the incident. The turn of events, however, remains unclear.

After getting information, Nayagarh Town Police reached the spot and seized Sahu's body for postmortem. Cops informed that a probe has been initiated based on circumstantial evidence and Sahu's son is being interrogated in this connection.