A month after the mysterious death of Paralakhemundi Assistant Conservator of Forest (ACF) Soumya Ranjan Mohapatra, the Crime Branch wing of State Police has taken over the probe of the much-publicised case from the local police.
“The Crime Branch has taken over the probe of the ACF death case on directions received from Director General of Police (DGP) Abhay. A three-member team of investigators has been constituted for the purpose to unravel the mystery hovering around the young forest officer’s death”, said a senior official of Crime Branch on Saturday.
It may be recalled here that Soumya Ranjan Mohapatra, Assistant Conservator of Forest (ACF) in Gajapati district’s Paralakhemundi had succumbed to burns under mysterious circumstances. The deceased’s family members had later alleged that his spouse could be behind the incident, giving a controversial twist to the tragic death of the young forest officer.
The young forest officer had got married in 2020 and was staying with his wife in the official quarters in Paralakhemundi when the tragic incident had taken place. The officer who had sustained 90% burn injuries later died at the SCB Medical College and Hospital in Cuttack.
The local police groped in dark for a month as forensic and post mortem reports had failed to throw much light on the suspected murder of the forest officer.