Bhubaneswar: Family members of a youth, Anand Toppo, who died allegedly by suicide have alleged that the investigation, in this case, is being influenced by former international hockey player Birendra Lakra. In a press release issued on Sunday, Anand’s father Bandhan Toppo alleged that they suspect the involvement of Lakra and his friend Manjeet Tete in the death of his son.
“As Birendra is now part of the police organisation, he might be influencing the inquiry,” he said. The former Indian Hockey Vice-Captain joined as DSP in Odisha Police on February 17. The deceased was found hanging in a flat at Infocity in Bhubaneswar around 10 am on February 28 and at the time of the incident, both Birendra and Manjeet were reportedly with him.
Infocity police here have registered a case of unnatural death in this connection. Alleging that it could be a pre-planned murder, Bandhan said that her son might have been poisoned or strangulated before being hanged. “There were scar marks on his neck but the police refused to register a case. Instead, they asked us to assist in the postmortem process and take the body for cremation,” he said.
The family wrote to the DCP on May 11 to treat the application as FIR and register a case of cognizable offence. “I met the DCP personally, requesting a proper probe into the incident and submitted another application to the Commissioner of Police on May 19. However, nothing has been done so far,” said Toppo. Lakra could not be contacted for his comments despite repeated attempts.
