Tabloid Screen; Former DFO,Gajapati Sangram Behera Sent to Jail
Bhagabat Padhi,Odishabarta
District Correspondent
Paralakhemundi, July 28: Former Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) of Gajapati, Sangram Keshari Behera, was remanded to judicial custody after surrendering before the court in connection with the 2021 death of Assistant Conservator of Forests (ACF) Soumya Ranjan Mohapatra.Behera appeared before the Sub-Divisional Judicial Magistrate (SDJM) Court at Paralakhemundi through his counsel on Monday.
The SDJM rejected his bail application. He subsequently moved the District and Sessions Court seeking bail, but his plea was also dismissed. Following the rejection of his bail petitions, the court sent him to jail.
Earlier, the Orissa High Court had rejected Behera’s anticipatory bail plea and, in CRLMC No. 4056 of 2026, directed him to surrender before the trial court within two weeks and apply for regular bail.
The High Court also ordered speedy trial of the case.
In-charge Public Prosecutor Rajesh Kumar Mishra said that Behera had allegedly been evading the execution of a non-bailable warrant (NBW) issued by the trial court for nearly a year.
Considering the seriousness of the allegations, the High Court directed him to surrender before the lower court.
The case relates to the mysterious death of ACF Soumya Ranjan Mohapatra, a 2020-batch Odisha Forest Service (OFS) officer. On July 12, 2021, he sustained nearly 80 percent burn injuries at his official residence in Paralakhemundi under suspicious circumstances.
He was initially treated at hospitals in Berhampur and later shifted to SCB Medical College and Hospital, Cuttack, before being referred to a private hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries on July 13, 2021.
On July 14, 2021, Soumya Ranjan’s father, Abhiram Mohapatra, lodged a complaint alleging murder. The complaint named then Gajapati DFO Sangram Keshari Behera, the deceased officer’s wife Bidya Bharati Panda, and cook Manmath Kumbha as accused.
The incident sparked statewide outrage, prompting the Odisha Government to hand over the investigation to the CID-Crime Branch in August 2021. Although the Crime Branch initially gave Behera a clean chit, the victim’s family challenged the findings by filing a protest petition before the court.
After serving as Gajapati DFO, Behera was posted as Principal of the Forest Ranger College at Angul from January 2023 to April 2026. In May 2026, he was appointed Director of the Odisha Forest Development Corporation (OFDC).
With Behera now in judicial custody and his bail rejected, the family of the deceased officer expressed hope that the long-pending case would finally move towards justic
As per CRLMC case 4056/2026 , dated 14th July 2036,High Court ordered accused Behera to surrender at lower Court & apply for Bail & he had given 2 weeks time to surrender.
Along with him Manmath Kumbha cook & Bidyabharati Panda too were also registered for the murder of ACF.
Court nullified on its judgement & sent the accused Behera to jail.His request for Bail rejected. On 13th July 2021 ACF was burnt & referred to SCB Medical College. There he died. Abhiram Mohapatra father of deceased was knocking for justice.
