BHADRAK : Mystery shrouds the death of a woman block agriculture officer (BAO) who was found hanging in her rented house at Balinagar village under Basudevpur police limits in Bhadrak district on Wednesday.
The deceased was identified as 30-year-old Niharika Dalai, a native of Randia village under Bhadrak Rural police limits. Dalai was serving as the agriculture officer of Basudevpur block for the past two years. She was residing in the rented accommodation along with her seven-year-old daughter.
Police said Dalai was on leave for the last several days. After dropping her daughter at school in the morning, she reportedly went shopping. After returning home, she locked herself in the house and did not respond to any phone call.
Later in the day, the local milkman arrived at her place and knocked on the door. However, there was no response even after repeated calls and the door remained locked from inside. Suspecting foul play, he informed the BAO’s landlord. When repeated knocks on the door went unanswered, the house owner contacted Basudevpur police.
On being informed, Bhadrak Sadar sub-divisional police officer (SDPO) Bichitrananda Sethi and Basudevpur IIC Lopamudra Nayak along with a team rushed to the spot. After breaking open the door, they went inside the house and found Dalai’s body hanging from the ceiling with an apron.
IIC Nayak said the deceased’s body was seized and sent to the hospital for postmortem. Police have launched an inquiry to determine the exact circumstances which led to the agriculture officer’s death. Further investigation is underway, she added.
The BAO’s husband Satyabrata Padhi is a software engineer working in Bhubaneswar.
