Brahmagiri: Post-mortem report of Chittaranjan Palei, who was a key aide of senior BJD leader and deputy chairperson of State Planning Board Sanjay Das Burma, stated that cause of death is drowning.
“A post-mortem report has arrived, which states that Chittaranjan Palei died due to drowning. The report has been sent to State Forensic Lab (SFL) in Bhubaneswar and police station concerned,” Puri additional district medical officer (ADMO) Pranab Shankar Das said Monday.
It is pertinent to mention here that the deceased aide Chittaranjan was a native of Sanabandhakera village under Brahmagiri tehsil in Puri. He was found dead under mysterious circumstances and was later fished out while floating in Nuanai River of the district December 13, 2021.
Acting on an FIR lodged by the deceased’s family, Sadar police had earlier registered a murder case. Director General of Odisha Police Abhay handed over its probe to state Crime Branch December 15.
A four-member team of the Crime Branch led by its DSP Sisir Kumar Mishra has been probing into the case. ADG Sanjeeb Panda twice visited the spot where body of Chittaranjan was found and accident spot of Jagannath Sarangi alias Jaga, another aide of Das Burma.
After taking over the alleged murder case, Crime Branch had also quizzed a few persons, including Burma’s security officer Sarbeswar Jena and nephew of Chittaranjan named Dillip who were present at the much-debated feast hosted by Jaga on the intervening night.
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Besides them, three others namely Umakanta Paikray, Suryaprasad Mishra and Jaga were grilled by the probing agency Thursday.
“Probe into Chittaranjan Palei murder case is underway. All possible angles are being taken into account. Statements of witnesses have been recorded and the polygraph tests will be conducted, if needed. We have made significant progress in the probe, but not reached any conclusion yet,” Panda had said while briefing the mediapersons.
Sadar police recovered a mobile phone and other belongings of the victim Sunday night from near Gadamrugasira bridge. They had also spotted a splash of blood at the time of recovering the articles.
Police are yet to solve the mystery surrounding Chittaranjan’s death. Body of the victim bore several injury marks when fished out.
PNN