The Orissa High Court has ordered a Criminal Investigation Department-Crime Branch probe into the alleged murder of a man last year in which former international Hockey star and a senior police officer, Birendra Lakra has been accused of involvement.

Lakra, 33, was part of India’s bronze medal-winning team at the Tokyo Games and also led the national side at the Asia Cup, where the team won a bronze medal.

Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, an avid follower of Hockey, appointed Lakra as Deputy Superintendent of Police in the State Police Department in August 2021 after the Indian hockey team won the bronze medal after 41 years of medal drought in the Olympics.

“Since the case involves death of a human being with the allegation of foul play, which this Court, prima facie finds acceptable, it is a fit case to direct reinvestigation.

Birendra Lakra is a high-ranking Police Officer belonging to the grade of Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP). The allegation that the investigation was biased or in any case not impartial appears to be reasonable in the facts and circumstances of the case. Therefore, directing the same agency (local police) to reinvestigate would not be proper. Rather for the ends of justice, it would be proper for an independent agency like the Criminal Investigation Department-Crime Branch to do so”, the single bench judge Justice Sashikanta Mishra ruled in a judgment.

In the instant case, the entire investigation proceeded on the premise of suicide. All efforts of the investigating officer appear to have been made in this background, the HC said.

This Court, therefore, directs the Additional Director General (Crime Branch) to entrust the investigation to a Senior Officer, not below the rank of Deputy Inspector General of Police who shall reinvestigate the matter from all angles and submit a report to the Court accordingly, the order concluded.

The commissionerate police here had earlier given a clean chit to international hockey Lakra in the death case of his childhood friend Anand Toppo by concluding that it was a case of suicidal death.

Lakra’s friend was found dead inside his flat in Bhubaneswar in February last year and the father of the deceased, Bandhan Toppo, had accused the State police of shielding the hockey player since he is serving as a DSP.

The petitioner (the deceased’s father)’s counsel alleged foul play in the death of the deceased saying that police deliberately portrayed the death as a case of suicide.

There is ample evidence on record to suggest that the deceased was administered poison along with alcohol which caused his death and the accused persons attempted to cover up such fact by showing it as a case of suicidal hanging, the prosecution counsel further alleged.

The Orissa High acting on a petition had earlier pulled up the investigating agency for delayed registration of the FIR by observing that “it seems institutional lethargy has crept into the system, which is unfortunate”.