UMERKOTE: A 35-year-old police constable was found dead in an abandoned building within the Umerkote police station in Nabarangpur district on Friday.
The deceased was identified as Akshaya Kumar Nayak of Pakhanaguda under Nabarangpur police limits. He had been posted at the Umerkote police outpost for the past two years.
Preliminary reports suggest that Nayak died by suicide after hanging himself with a rope inside the unused structure of the police station.
Nayak’s body was discovered by other personnel on Friday morning. His body was sent for postmortem, following which it was handed over to his family.
Umerkote IIC Bipin Kumar Bag said Nayak was unwell for the past few days and was reportedly under stress due to family-related issues. “It appears that these factors may have led him to take the extreme step,” he said, adding that an unnatural death case has been registered and an investigation is underway.
However, the circumstances surrounding the incident have raised questions, with sources claiming that Nayak was under severe financial stress as he didn’t receive his salary since the past few months. Police officials couldn’t be contacted for response.
(Assistance for those having suicidal thoughts is available on helpline 104 or Tele MANAS 14416)