Bhubaneswar, 02 August (H.S.): The Odisha Government has suspended former Gajapati Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) Sangram Keshari Behera in connection with the high-profile death of Assistant Conservator of Forests (ACF) Soumya Ranjan Mohapatra in 2021.
The suspension was ordered on the direction of Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi. Behera, who is currently serving as Director (Commercial) at the Odisha Forest Development Corporation (OFDC), is now under suspension pending further proceedings.
Behera has been lodged in judicial custody since Monday after surrendering before the SDJM Court in Paralakhemundi. His surrender came following a series of legal setbacks, including the issuance of non-bailable warrants against him.
The case dates back to July 11, 2021, when Soumya Ranjan Mohapatra, a 2020-batch Odisha Forest Service (OFS) officer, sustained nearly 80 per cent burn injuries under mysterious circumstances at his official residence in Paralakhemundi. He was initially treated at government hospitals in Berhampur and Cuttack before being shifted to a private hospital, where he later succumbed to his injuries.
The incident triggered widespread outrage across the state. On July 14, 2021, the deceased officer’s family lodged a complaint alleging murder and named then DFO Sangram Behera, Soumya’s wife Bidya Bharati Panda, and cook Manmath Kumbha as accused.
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Hindusthan Samachar / Monalisa Panda
