Paralakhemundi: A six-member team of officials from Paralakhemundi police station Sunday travelled to Balasore and Mayurbhanj districts to probe the alleged murder of assistant conservator of forest (ACF) Soumya Ranjan Mohapatra.
According to an official source, the team will interrogate the parents of deceased Soumya in Balasore and his spouse Bidya Bharati Panda at Kaptipada in Mayurbhanj district.
A senior official said that two suspects in the mysterious death – Gajapati DFO Sangarm Keshari Behera and the deceased’s spouse Bidya Bharati – came under police scanner after the ACF’s father Abhiram Mahapatra lodged an FIR levelling murder charges against them.
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According to the FIR, the ACF’s father termed his son’s death as a pre-planned ‘murder’ over extramarital affair between accused Bidya Bharati and the DFO. A cook who was present at home on the intervening day is also under police scanner.
Abhiram demanded a probe into the incident by Crime Branch.
Meanwhile, a scientific team Friday conducted a detailed scrutiny, but only found smoky smell inside Soumya’s bedroom. There were no traces of inflammable objects that could have caused the fire mishap in which the ACF is said to have died, a senior police official said.
No sign of any damage caused to items like plastic articles and paper documents owing to inferno could be seen, the official added.
Notably, the deceased OFS officer succumbed to over 90 per cent burn injuries July 13 while undergoing treatment in Cuttack.
PNN