While Assistant Conservator of Forests (ACF) Soumya Ranjan Mohapatra’s death case is still tied in knots, the Crime Branch (CB) on Saturday said that Gajapati DFO Sangram Keshari Behera and deceased officer’s wife Bidyabharati Panda would undergo lie detection test if required.
Notably, lie detector tests also known as polygraph tests record a number of different bodily responses which can then be used to determine whether someone is telling the truth. They usually measure things like blood pressure, changes in a person's breathing, and sweating on the palms. The Crime Branch led by DSP, Gyanaranjan Mishra on the day recorded the statement of the DFO after grilling him for around three hours.“Today, we summoned the DFO for questioning and he admitted that he was present at the spot when the dying declaration of Soumya was recorded. The DFO, however, claimed that he didn’t have any clue what the doctors were writing,” said Mishra.
Mishra further said that the DFO denied charges of having relationship with Bidya Bharati or harassing the deceased ACF by giving him extra work, as alleged by the family members of the deceased officer.“We will soon examine Bidya Bharati and others.
Only after completing the questioning of people relevant to the investigation, we will proceed further,” Mishra added. When asked about today’s questioning, Behera told reporters that he wasn’t present at the spot when the doctors recorded the dying declaration of the deceased ACF. Earlier, the family members of the deceased officer had levelled serious allegations against the DFO accusing him of having played a role in the death of Soumya Ranjan. Earlier on Friday, the investigating agency had recorded the statement of Mamata Panda, the OIC of Gurandi police station in Gajapati district in connection with the case.
Earlier, three doctors at Paralakhemundi Hospital, who had attended to Soumya after he got burnt in suspicious circumstances on the night of July 11, were quizzed by the Crime Branch sleuths. Paralakhemundi Tehsildar Achyutananda Jani, who recorded the dying declaration of Soumya, was also questioned by the agency on Wednesday for about an hour.