Vikash Sharma

The Jagatpur Police on Monday claimed to have solved the mystery surrounding the death of Tusharkanta Sahoo, a +2 student of Christ College in Cuttack, whose body was recovered around three days after he went missing last month, with the arrest of two accused.

Police said the duo had abetted in the suicide by Tusharkant. The accused have been identified as Dibyaranjan Behera and Kaushal Pradhan. Both the accused allegedly tortured and harassed the deceased who was into a relationship with a girl, identified as Chulbul (name changed).

Police said Dibyaranjan happens to be the boyfriend of the girl’s elder sister. Both the accused have been booked under IPC Sections 306 (abetment of suicide) and 34 (criminal act done by several persons in furtherance of the common intention). They were produced before a court today for remand.

Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP), Amarendra Panda today said that the deceased student had developed intimacy with Chulbul. However, their relation subsequently turned sour after some disputes erupted between them.

“Dibyaranjan, a friend of Chulbul’s elder sister and his associate Kaushal were repeatedly torturing and harassing Tusharkanta for two to three months before the boy died by suicide. They had also threatened Tusharkanta to implicate him in a false case. Dibyarajan had also beaten up the deceased prior to his suicide. Both the accused had jointly thrashed Tusharkanta on August 3, the day when the latter went missing,” said Panda.

Police said the deceased student had jumped into the river from Dhabaleswar bridge on August 3 and his body was recovered from the Jobra barrage on August 5, 2021. The family members of the deceased student had refuted the suicide claims and demanded a thorough probe as they suspected some foul play in the incident. They had alleged that Tusharkanta had been killed by some of his friends over a love issue. The conversation between Tusharkanta and the girl on WhatsApp had confirmed their relationship.

Sources said both the girl and her elder sister had gone underground following the disappearance of Tusharkanta. Based on the complaint filed by the deceased’s family, the police had initially filed an unnatural death case and a probe was launched by Jagatpur police based on several aspects.

“There was no delay in the probe as we had registered an unnatural death case. Following investigation and taking into account various aspects, a case was subsequently registered and the two persons have been arrested. The role of the girl and others will be thoroughly examined,” Panda added.

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