The body of a forester was recovered in a hanging condition from the official quarter of the Balangir Forest Department Range Office on Sunday.
The deceased has been identified as Byasadev Sahu (59), Main Section Forester of Balangir. Sahu had gone to his official residence for lunch during the day but failed to return to the office by evening. An employee who went to look for him found the house locked from inside and received no response when he called out, raising suspicion.
Police were informed, and a scientific team from Laxmi Jorthana police station recovered the body from the hanging position inside the house. The police have taken the body into custody. As the incident occurred in the evening, the inquest and post-mortem could not be conducted on Sunday night.
The exact cause of death remains unclear. Sources indicated that Sahu had reportedly taken money from some individuals and failed to return it, leading to mental stress. There were also reports that a legal notice had been served on him through a lawyer over the issue of unpaid money. Sahu had only about a year of service left before retirement.
Balangir Sadar SDPO stated that the cause of death is yet to be determined and will become clear only after the inquest and post-mortem examination.
Balangir DFO Ajit Bishi described Sahu as a good forester. He had received the Best Forester award on August 15 in Bhawanipatna and had earlier been honoured with a state award. Bishi said the reason behind the incident would be known after the investigation.
