Village level worker found dead in Odisha guest house

A probe has been initiated to find out the circumstances under which a woman village level woker of Jajpur district was found dead at a guest house owned by the husband of a sarpanch, police said.

The father of the deceased has filed a complaint with the police over the death of his daughter alleging foul play.

The village level worker (VLW) of Haridaspur gram panchayat, Smitarani Biswal, was found hanging from a ceiling fan at the guest house on Wednesday, Rupesh Bhadra, husband of Haridaspur Sarpanch, had claimed.

"Investigation is in progress and a clear picture will emerge after the post-mortem report is available," Inspector- in-Charge of Dharmasala police station, Saroj Kumar Sahoo said.

Some people are being questioned in connection with the incident, he said.

Biswal (31), a resident of Bhubanpur village in the district, had gone to Haridaspur gram panchayat to disburse old age pension to the beneficiaries, police said.

After disbursing pension in Bhadanga village, Biswal had gone to the guest house, owned by Haridaspur Sarpanch Madhusmita Bhadra's husband in Baligari area.

Alleging that the VLW had committed suicide, Rupesh Bhadra had mentioned that Biswal had gone to the first floor to freshen up after reaching the guest house.

The body was found hanging from the ceiling fan with a 'dupatta' tied around her neck, Bhadra had said.

On being informed about the incident, police rushed to the spot and sent the body for post-mortem examination.