ROURKELA: Mystery shrouds the death of a contractual worker of Rourkela Municipal Corporation (RMC), whose blood-stained body was recovered from the ring road near DAV pond under Uditnagar police limits here in the wee hours of Wednesday.
The deceased was identified as 28-year-old Soumya Ranjan Sharma, a resident of Chhend Colony. He was engaged as a contractual clerical staff at RMC’s vehicle maintenance section.
The deceased’s elder brother Chandrabhanu said Soumya usually used to return home late in the night. Since there was heavy rain on Tuesday night, family members thought he might have got stuck somewhere. At around 2.30 am, police control room (PCR) van personnel called Chandrabhanu and asked him to reach the Rourkela Government Hospital (RGH).
Chandrabhanu said police told him that Soumya was found lying along the ring road and admitted to the RGH. But by the time he reached the hospital, his brother was already dead.
He said Soumya’s head and face were crushed with some hard object, leading to his death. “It is unlikely that my brother’s death was accidental as there was no scratch on the rest of his body. His motorcycle was also not found at the spot. It is still not clear if Soumya was returning home on his own bike or in another vehicle,” he said.
Chandrabhanu claimed that a few months ago, Soumya was disengaged from his job at the RMC due to a dispute over pay hike demand. However, he got back his job after pressure from different quarters. “I suspect that my brother was murdered in cold-blood. Soumya’s immediate supervisor might have a hand in his death,” he alleged.
Uditnagar IIC Gyanendra Sahu said an unnatural death case has been registered. As the deceased’s brother has alleged murder, investigation is underway from all angles. “Police are analysing available CCTV footage. If any foul play is detected, the unnatural death case would be converted to murder,” Sahu added.
