Orissa High Court rejects anticipatory bail of former Gajapati DFO and cook of deceased ACF Soumya Ranjan
In a latest development in the mysterious death case of ACF Soumya Ranjan, the Orissa High Court has rejected the anticipatory bail petition of his cook Manmath Kumbha and former Gajapati DFO Sangram Keshari Behera.
Cuttack: In a latest development in the mysterious death case of ACF Soumya Ranjan, the Orissa High Court has rejected the anticipatory bail petition of his cook Manmath Kumbha and former Gajapati DFO Sangram Keshari Behera.
Informing about the development, Advocate Rakesh Kumar Behera said that both Sangram Keshari Behera and Manmath Kumbha had moved the Orissa High Court in July this year challenging the April 19, 2023 order of the Paralakhemundi SDJM, which had taken cognisance of a murder complaint naming them as accused.
However, the High Court had rejected their petition saying that the case would continue under sections 302 and 120 (B) of the IPC. Following this, the Paralakhemundi SDJM had issued Non-Bailable Warrant (NBW) against DFO Sangram Keshari Behera and cook Manmath Kumbha to appear before it for the hearing of the case, the Advocate informed.
He further said that after the NBW was issued against them, they had moved the High Court again and applied for anticipatory bail. However, the court while producing its order today rejected their anticipatory bail petition and allowed them to surrender before the lower court, following which they can apply for regular bail.
With this, police can now arrest both of them and also Bidyabharati Panda, the widow of ACF Soumya Ranjan, against whom the criminal proceedings still underway.
Notably, the ACF died on July 12, 2021 while undergoing treatment at a private hospital, a day after he mysteriously sustained critical burn injuries at his Paralakhemundi quarters on July 11.
Later, Soumya Ranjan’s family members had filed a case at Paralakhemundi alleging that he was murdered by Bidya Bharati Panda, Sangram Keshari Behera and Manmath Kumbha. They also had claimed that there was extramarital affair between the DFO and Bidya Bharati.
Taking a serious note of the incident, the Odisha government on August 14, 2021 handed over the case to the Crime Branch, which on October 8, 2021 gave clean chit to the accused persons. However, the SDJM court took cognisance of the murder complaint in April 2023 and summoned all the three accused persons.
