Paralakhemundi ACF death mystery deepens; no clue of fire found in house

Paralakhemundi: The death mystery of Paralakhemundi Assistant Conservator of Forest (ACF) Soumya Ranjan Mahapatra further deepened as there is no scoop that he died in a fire incident at his residential quarters.

Source said that the police and scientific team initiated investigation in presence of the deceased ACF’s father Abhiram Mahapatra and family members at the government quarters on Friday. However, the probe team did not find any clue that will establish the fact that the forest official had caught fire inside the room.

The police and scientific team officials could smell something like odors of smoke inside the room. But they did not find any traces of inflammable objects that could cause the fire mishap. Even there was no sign of fire that could have damaged other items including plastic articles and some paper documents, the source said.

While the investigating team did not speak anything to media on the ongoing probe, the Additional SP Bamadev Singh denied to make any statement in the case.

The police informed that Gajapati DFO Sangarm Keshari Behera, one of the suspects in mysterious death of the young OFS officer, will be grilled in one or two days to crack the case. The deceased official’s wife Bidya Bharati Panda will also be interrogated in connection with the case.

The hidden fact is likely to be unfolded following interrogation of the DFO and Soumya’s wife, the police said.

Read more: Paralakhemundi ACF Death: Wife, Cook, DFO Booked For Murder

The duo came under police scanner following deceased ACF’s father lodged a written complaint against them and a cook alleging their involvement in the ‘murder’ case.

He termed the death of his son as a pre-planned murder over extramarital affair. He accused Bidya Bharati, the DFO and cook of killing Soumya Ranjan and demanded a probe by the Crime Branch into the incident.

The OFS Officer succumbed to burn injuries on July 13 morning while undergoing treatment at a private hospital in Cuttack.