BJD ZP suicide: BJP blames Minister Samir Dash

Bhubaneswar: After a BJD Zilla Parishad member was discovered hanging on Saturday, the opposition BJP claimed that Samir Ranjan Dash, the state's minister of schools and mass education, was responsible and called for his immediate resignation to allow for a fair investigation.

Senior BJP politician Pravati Parida connected Dash to the death of Dharmendra Sahoo, a BJD Zilla Parishad member from Nimapada, and said the authorities should look into Dash's involvement in the incident as it looks to be a murder case.

When contacted by the media about the claim made by the BJP leader, the Minister, who also happens to be the MLA from Nimapada, declined to respond.

The Nimapada native Parida asserted that it appeared to be a case of "well planned murder" rather than suicide. The BJP state vice president claimed that Sahoo and his wife used to argue frequently, with the argument usually centering on Minister Dash.

She demanded Dash immediately step down from his position as minister and called on the police to undertake an unbiased and fair inquiry into the incident.

Parida added that Sahoo had stated in a social media post before his passing that two videos on his phone will reveal the truth.

She added that the authorities must check Sahoo's cell phone to make sure that no evidence has been tampered with or deleted, and that he did not upload the films because he was likely terrified of threat from someone.

Parida claimed that his wife had filed a FIR with the Lingaraj police station alleging that Sahoo had attempted suicide some 15 days prior. She added that the entire scenario raises doubt regarding Dash's role in Sahoo's murder, noting that Sahoo had claimed there was a family argument over a political leader after the incident.

The BJP leader declared that her group will work to see that Sahoo receives justice and the truth is made public.

Despite declining to provide specifics, Additional DCP Prakash Pal stated that a comprehensive inquiry into the incident is ongoing.

On Saturday, Sahoo was discovered hanging at a home in the Sishupalgarh neighbourhood of the capital of Odisha. After learning of the incident, the Dhauli police and a scientific team went to the scene and found his body.