ROURKELA: The body of a 37-year-old man, who was found dead at his house in Barmal village of Sundargarh district on June 22, was exhumed on Sunday after his family raised suspicion that he might have been murdered.
The body of Prabhu Dayal Toppo was exhumed by Raiboga police in the presence of an executive magistrate and a forensic team. An autopsy was conducted at the Sundargarh Government Medical College and Hospital (SGMCH) on Monday.
The development came after Toppo’s sister, an inspector in the Odisha Police, reportedly noticed some clues during a recent visit to his house that led her to suspect foul play.
According to police, Toppo used to stay alone at his native place in Barmal to look after the family’s agricultural activities. His wife Sushma, their six-year-old daughter and other family members stayed at their second house in Hamirpur, Rourkela, for the child’s education.
Police said Sushma and her daughter left Barmal for Rourkela on June 21. She spoke to Toppo over the phone around 8.30 pm and asked him to have dinner. When she called again around 10.30 pm, he did not answer. As Toppo was in the habit of consuming alcohol every day, his wife assumed that he might have fallen asleep after drinking, police said.
The following morning, when Toppo did not respond to repeated calls, Sushma asked a neighbourhood girl to check on him around noon. The girl found him lying motionless on the floor and sought the help of a nursing student from the village, who confirmed that he had died. His family members in Rourkela were subsequently informed.
Acting IIC of Raiboga police station SK Jena said the family initially believed that Toppo had died a natural death. In consultation with some village elders, including the local sarpanch and ward member, they decided to bury the body without informing the police, apparently to avoid a postmortem.
Jena said Toppo’s sister recently visited his house and found a bottle bearing blood-like stains, prompting her to suspect that his death might not have been natural. “His wife lodged a complaint on Saturday suspecting that he had been murdered. Accordingly, the body was exhumed on Sunday,” Jena said.
Sundargarh SP Amritpal Kaur said police had not been informed about the death at the time and the body was buried by the family. Following the complaint, the body was exhumed in accordance with the prescribed guidelines and an autopsy was conducted.
“The autopsy report is awaited. The exact cause of death will be ascertained based on the report and further investigation will be taken up accordingly,” Kaur said.