Cuttack: In a shocking incident, a 37 year-old man was found dead under mysterious circumstances at a private de-addiction centre in Odisha's Cuttack district. He was allegedly murdered by some inmates over a dispute on Diwali night. Four persons were detained and later arrested in this connection. They are Raja Bishal of Cuttack Pithapur, Rohit Ranjan Samal of Jajpur, Ramakanta Swain of Badamba and Asutosh Das of Adaspur.

The deceased was identified as Soumyaranjan Das, a resident of Jatni. As per reports, Das had been admitted to the rehab centre - located in Uttamapur village within Sadar police limits - about two months back as he was going through a depressive phase after quitting his job.

On the night of Diwali, a heated altercation broke out between Das and some other inmates. Preliminary probe revealed that four occupants were trying to escape the rehab centre taking advantage of the festivities and lack of vigilance. On seeing them make an attempt to flee, Das raised an alarm.

As their escape bid was foiled, the inmates got furious and got into a scuffle with Das. They allegedly pinned him down and strangled him,leading to his death. In the morning, the addiction centre staff found Das lying unconscious. They rushed him to the hospital but doctors declared him brought dead.

Sadar police, on being alerted, reached the spot and started investigation. They said the cause of death will be established only after autopsy. "The man was strangulated as he tried to stop few inmates from escaping the centre. Four persons have been arrested. A staff of the centre has been detained for interrogation. A case has been registered basing on the complaint filed by the deceased's father," confirmed Sashikant Rout, ACP Zone-4.

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