Kataka: The Orissa High Court has declined to grant interim protection from arrest to Bidya Bharati Panda, wife of deceased Assistant Conservator of Forests (ACF) Soumya Ranjan Mohapatra, while considering her anticipatory bail application in connection with her husband’s death.
The court directed the investigating agency to produce the case diary and fixed the next hearing for the first week after the court vacation.
Bidya Bharati had moved the High Court seeking anticipatory bail after earlier challenging the criminal proceedings initiated against her in the case. The latest development follows the Supreme Court’s dismissal of her petition challenging the High Court’s decision not to quash the criminal proceedings against her or grant protection from arrest.
The case dates back to July 11, 2021, when Soumya Ranjan, who was serving as ACF at Paralakhemundi in Gajapati district, sustained nearly 80 per cent burn injuries under mysterious circumstances at his official residence.
He was subsequently shifted to a hospital in Kataka for treatment but succumbed to his injuries.
On July 14, 2021, his family lodged a complaint alleging murder and named his wife, then Gajapati Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) Sangram Behera and cook Manmath Kumbha as accused.
In view of the sensitivity of the case, the Odisha government transferred the investigation to the Crime Branch in August 2021.
