PURI: The ongoing Crime Branch (CB) investigation into the alleged murder of Chitta Ranjan Palei, the 22-year-old associate of BJD leader and deputy chairman of State Planning Board Sanjay Dasburma, hit a dead end as the postmortem report remained inconclusive about the cause of death.
The autopsy report of Chitta was handed over to the police on Sunday night, December 19, 2021. The postmortem was conducted by two doctors and the proceedings were recorded. In the report, the doctors mentioned that while the injury marks on Chitta’s body were antemortem, the cause of death cannot be ascertained.
In-charge chief district medical officer (CDMO) Dr Pranab Kishore Das said the final postmortem report will be submitted after results of viscera and other tests arrive. These have been sent to the State forensic laboratory for tests, he added.
Meanwhile, prime accused Jagannath Sarangi and a mother-daughter duo are being subjected to lie-detection test in Bhubaneswar. Chitta had paid a visit to a girl and her mother the night he went missing. The CB traced the family from call records of the deceased youth. The girl is a resident of the village situated near the crime spot Gadamrugasira bridge.
Sources said the mother-daughter duo was subjected to intense grilling. Till now, the CB is unsure if Chitta’s death is a case of murder or drowning. Chitta, a native of Sanabenakudi village in Puri’s Brahmagiri, went missing on December 11. He had gone to attend a picnic with his friends the previous night but never returned home.
After family members lodged a missing complaint, police launched a search and found Chitta’s body from Nuanai river on December 13. Chitta’s family members had alleged that he was murdered in a planned manner by his friend Jagannath. On the other hand, local BJP and Congress leaders have been demanding resignation of Dasburma from the planning board for his alleged involvement in the youth’s death and and CBI probe into the incident.