Bhubaneswar: The body of a 42-yearold man was found inside a car in the Unit VI area of the state Capital Friday night. The deceased, identified as Udanda Chandrasen Patra (42), was a native of Gopalpur in Berhampur and worked with a local travel agency.
According to police sources, the agency owner grew concerned after Patra became unreachable on the phone from around 3 pm Friday. Using the vehicle’s GPS tracking system, he traced the white sedan around 10 pm and found Patra lying unresponsive inside.
On being informed, a team from the Capital police station reached the spot and sent the body for post-mortem examination. While the exact cause of death is yet to be ascertained, officials are exploring multiple possibilities.
Preliminary investigation suggests the driver may have died of asphyxiation (suffocation) while sleeping inside the vehicle with the windows rolled up. “A probe has been launched to determine whether there was any foul play or if it was a tragic accident.
We are awaiting the autopsy report to ascertain the cause of death,” said Capital police station Inspector-in-Charge (IIC) Radhakanta Sahoo.