While the mysterious death of the Paralakhemundi ACF Soumyaranjan Mohapatra has become the hottest topic in Odisha right now, the driver of the ambulance who was carrying the severely-burnt official to hospital has said that a woman in police uniform had asked him to stop the vehicle at forest gate on the fateful night.
The ambulance driver who was questioned by the investigating team late last night, said “It was around 11 pm or 12 midnight when I started driving to the hospital with the officer. The ambulance stopped at Forest gate and remained there for around 10-15 minutes as no one accompanied the patient. A 'madam' in police uniform asked me to stop the vehicle. Later, the ambulance left for hospital after the patient's wife came and accompanied him,” the driver told OTV.
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“A SUV also followed the ambulance. When we reached Gopalpur, the 'Madam' (patient's wife) asked me to take the patient to SCB Medical College and Hospital in Cuttack. I drove straight to Cuttack and reached around 7 am,” he added.
The probe team interrogated the ambulance driver at Model Police Station in Paralakhmendi regarding the detention of the vehicle near the forest gate.
On the other hand, the Paralakhemundi police and Crime Branch team are scheduled to question Gajapati DFO Sangram Behera and police OIC Mamata Rani Panda today.
The DIG (Southern range) had visited the deceased official’s residence on Thursday along with Crime Branch team and Paralakhemundi police. Later, he also convened a meeting with the investigating officials and discussed various aspects of the inquiry.
The Crime Branch team which carried out searches at Soumya’s official quarters on Thursday gathered circumstantial evidence indicating at a fire mishap at the residence.
The Crime Branch team examined the circumstances in the residence in presence of Pralakhemundi police and found remains of some half-burnt articles, said Crime Branch DSP Bijay Mallick.
The backdoor of the quarters and mosquito net were in a semi-burnt condition. These are the evidence indicating a fire mishap in the quarters, he added.
The Crime Branch team, which is assisting the police in the investigation, would also verify the call details of deceased ACF and his wife Bidyabharati to ascertain the reason behind alleged murder case.