Police Sub-Inspector Found Dead in Official Quarters at Ambadola
Dr.Badal Tah,Odishabarta
RAYAGADA, November 8: Shock and sorrow gripped the Rayagada district police department on Saturday following the sudden death of Sub-Inspector Ashok Pradhan (57), who was found dead inside his designated official quarters on the premises of the Ambadola Police Station. Pradhan, a native of Bijapadar village under Phiringia police limits in Kandhamal district, was just three years away from retirement. He lived with his wife, son, and daughter in a rented residence in Ambadola town.
According to department sources, Pradhan had returned from leave and resumed duty on Friday. Around noon on Saturday, he retired to the station’s residential quarters for a brief rest, leaving his two-wheeler parked outside. When he failed to return to work and could not be reached by phone, concerned colleagues checked on him and found him unresponsive through a window. Ambadola Inspector-in-Charge (IIC) Prashant Kumar Sethi and other station staff immediately rushed him to the Ambadola Government Hospital, where attending doctor declared him brought dead.
Department officials stated that Pradhan had been battling chronic hypertension and diabetes.
Accommodating his health conditions, the station had assigned him light supervisory desk assignments, exempting him from night patrols and rigorous field duties.Following the incident, Bissamcuttack Sub-Divisional Police Officer (SDPO) Santoshini Oram and Muniguda IIC Lalit Mohan Sagar arrived at the hospital to supervise initial procedures. The officer’s body was later sent to the Community Health Centre (CHC) in Muniguda for a post-mortem examination.
Police have initiated an inquiry into the circumstances surrounding the death, examining whether it was triggered by acute health complications or other distress. The sudden loss of the seasoned and genial officer has cast a pall of gloom across the district’s policing fraternity.
