Bhubaneswar: Paralakhemundi Police have arrested Manmath Kumbha, the cook of deceased Assistant Conservator of Forests (ACF) Soumya Ranjan Mohapatra, in connection with the officer’s death case.

Kumbha was arrested from his native village in the early hours of Wednesday while police were executing a non-bailable warrant (NBW) issued by the court of the Sub-Divisional Judicial Magistrate (SDJM), Paralakhemundi.

According to police, acting on reliable information about Kumbha’s presence in the village, a team apprehended him. He was being produced before the SDJM court in Paralakhemundi for further legal action.

The warrant was issued against Kumbha in connection with a case registered under Sections 302 and 120-B of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

The case dates back to July 11, 2021, when Soumya Ranjan Mohapatra, then posted as ACF in Paralakhemundi in Gajapati district, suffered nearly 80 per cent burn injuries under mysterious circumstances at his official residence. He succumbed to burn injuries while undergoing treatment at a hospital in Cuttack.

On July 14, 2021, Soumya Ranjan’s family lodged a complaint alleging that he had been murdered. The complaint named then Gajapati Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) Sangram Behera, Soumya’s wife Bidya Bharati Panda and cook Manmath Kumbha as accused.

In view of the sensitivity of the case, the Odisha government handed over the investigation to the Crime Branch in August 2021.