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Odisha woman cricketer found dead in forest near Cuttack, family alleges murder
The body of a 26-year-old Odisha woman cricketer, missing from the selection trials in Cuttack city two days ago, was found hanging from a tree in a forest of Athagarh area on Friday, police said
The body of a 26-year-old Odisha woman cricketer, missing from the selection trials in Cuttack city two days ago, was found hanging from a tree in a forest of Athagarh area on Friday, police said.
Police said the woman identified as Rajashree Swain, was reported missing from her hotel room in Cuttack on January 11 and later her body was found hanging from a tree in the Brahmanbasta forest of Atagarh in Cuttack district.
According to the police, they were informed of the incident by forest department official Khirod Mallick, who saw the body hanging from a tree with a scarf around her neck.
Her body was found hours after police discovered her scooter and helmet lying in the same area. Police said, according to the family of the deceased, she was allegedly murdered by her coach, however, police believe that she hanged herself.
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Swain, an all-round cricketer, was among the 25 women at the cricket selection camp at Cuttack last week, giving trials for the senior women’s cricket tournament starting from January 18 in Puducherry.
According to the police, Swain’s name was not announced in the names of 16 probables on January 10 and after the trials on January 11, Swain told her coach that she would be going home to the Puri district.
However, when she did not return till evening, her coach Pushpanjali Banerjee lodged a first information report (FIR). Her mobile phone was also switched off since the day she went missing, police said.
Police said that a case of unnatural death was registered while an investigation into the matter has been launched.
Meanwhile, Gunanidhi Swain, the woman’s father, blamed the Odisha Cricket Association (OCA) for her death. The deceased woman’s sister said she was under stress after not making it to the 16 probables, police said, adding injury marks on her head and eye were also found at the time of the recovery.
“She called me at around 9am crying and told me that she was excluded from the team although she was one of the best players. I tried to pacify her, but she disconnected the call. So, I called my mother and asked her to talk to Rajashree. However, her phone switched off since then,” said Rajshree’s sister.
“The OCA and coach Banerjee are responsible for my sister’s death. We also suspect a bigger mystery in this. If she was under stress, she would have come home. Why would she go into the forest? What was done to her that she could not bear the torture?” her sister alleged, police said.
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Police said that her mother too alleged that Rajashree was intentionally excluded from the final team, although she was the best player. “She was under stress and had called up her sister. She informed that she was not included in the team despite being an all-rounder.”
Pinak Mishra, deputy commissioner of police (DCP), Cuttack, said that the police are looking into all angles. “We are also going to interrogate the hotel staff, fellow players and many others to unearth the mystery behind the untimely demise of the young cricketer,” he said.
OCA CEO Subrat Behera, however, said that there were no irregularities in the selection.
“It is sad that a promising OCA registered player, who was part of the Odisha T20 squad, is no more, but as far as the allegations of irregularities are concerned, the selection is done transparently and every performance of every player picked is uploaded on our website and the mobile app for everybody to see,” Behera said.
“She did not perform well and was excluded from the list. They cannot hold us responsible for her death just because she was not selected for the Odisha team,” he added.
