In a significant development in the long-running and much-discussed death case of Assistant Conservator of Forests (ACF) Soumya Ranjan Mohapatra, his wife Bidyabharati Panda surrendered before the Sub-Divisional Judicial Magistrate (SDJM) court in Paralakhemundi on Monday.
The surrender followed the Orissa High Court’s rejection of her anticipatory bail plea on October 31. With legal avenues for pre-arrest protection exhausted—including an earlier dismissal of her Special Leave Petition by the Supreme Court—Panda appeared before the lower court, paving the way for judicial proceedings to move forward against her.
The case dates back to July 2021, when 32-year-old Soumya Ranjan Mohapatra, then posted as ACF in Gajapati district, suffered severe burn injuries (reported as 80-90 per cent) under mysterious circumstances at his official residence in Paralakhemundi. He died the following day while undergoing treatment. His father, Abhiram Mohapatra, filed a complaint alleging murder and criminal conspiracy under Sections 302 and 120-B of the Indian Penal Code, naming Bidyabharati Panda, then Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) Sangram Keshari Behera, and family cook Manmath Kumbh as accused. The family alleged that the death stemmed from a conspiracy linked to an alleged close relationship between Bidyabharati and the DFO, which Soumya had reportedly opposed.
Initial investigations by the Crime Branch had treated the incident as accidental, but the SDJM court later took cognisance of the murder and conspiracy charges based on the father’s complaint and additional material. Over the years, the accused challenged various orders in higher courts, but those challenges were largely unsuccessful.
Former DFO Sangram Keshari Behera had surrendered before the same court in July 2026 and was remanded to judicial custody (he was later suspended from service). Cook Manmath Kumbh was arrested in September 2026 and is also in custody. With Bidyabharati’s surrender, all three named accused are now within the judicial system.
The case has remained in the public eye for years due to the allegations involving senior forest officers, the mysterious nature of the burns, and conflicting claims about the circumstances. While the family has consistently demanded a thorough trial and justice, the accused have denied the charges. The trial will now determine the truth of the allegations.
The development marks a major step in a case that has tested the justice system’s handling of a high-profile death involving public servants in Odisha.
