In a development in the mysterious death of Paralakhemundi ACF Soumya Ranjan Mohapatra, the Crime Branch on Monday conducted a lie detector test of the deceased’s wife Bidyabharati Panda at the State Forensic Science Laboratory (SFSL) here. Bidyabharat, who is one of the accused in the case, was put to a large of number of question to find out under what circumstances the ACF died.
It is assumed that forensic team may have asked Bidyabharati about her relationship with Soumya after marriage, her acquaintance with another accused, DFO Sangram Behera, among other questions. The polygraph test assumes significance amid repeated demands for arrest of the DFO by the family members of the deceased who have alleged his direct involvement in the ACF’s death. Earlier, lie-detection tests of the DFO and the deceased’s cook Manmath Kumbha had been conducted. As there was disparity in the statements of the DFO and the cook recorded by the police and the Crime Branch during questioning, the duo had to be subjected to the lie-detection tests, sources said.