Khurda: Police have seized the body of an engineering student from a hospital here Khurda town Thursday evening. The deceased has been identified as Tapas Panda (25), a resident of Haladiapadar Badasahi under Golanthora police limits in Ganjam district. Family members of the deceased have alleged Tapas was murdered in a planned manner. They informed he was a student of a private engineering college in Berhampur.
Khurda Town police station inspector-in-charge Umashankar Singh said they have registered a case on the basis of an FIR lodged by Subas, the deceased’s uncle. They said they have launched an investigation. “The post-mortem report will provide us a lead regarding the cause of the death. Then we can proceed with the investigation,” Singh informed.
Saroj, another uncle of the deceased, said Tapas had left Wednesday for Bhubaneswar telling his mother Sasmita that he would be appearing in interview. “He informed me he would park his bike (OD 07 AE 9913) at the station and take a train to Bhubaneswar. It was around 4.30pm when he called me. When I called him again at 5.00pm to find out whether he had boarded the train it was switched off. His mother also tried several times to contact him over his mobile phone but failed,” Saroj said.
“We only received a call from his friend at 11.00am Thursday informing us that Tapas had been hospitalised after he fell ill. The friend said they had checked in a hotel in Khurda town Wednesday. They had biryani for dinner. Next day morning he went out to bring tea. On returning, he found Tapas still sleeping. He tried to wake him up, but failed. Then with the help of the lodge owner his friend took Tapas to a nearby hospital. However the doctor on duty declared him brought dead,” Saroj stated.
“We suspect foul play as we were informed four hours after the death of Tapas. We suspect pre-planned murder,” Saroj added while talking to journalists here.
The case has reminded people of Jharaphula Nayak death case. There also the lady had checked into a hotel in Bhubaneswar with her boyfriend. Later her boyfriend with the help of his associate carried her body on a two-wheeler all the way to Jajpur and dumped it in a secluded place. The police recovered her body from the roadside near Mulapal Chowk under Kuakhia police limits January 27 morning.
PNN
