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Olympian Birendra Lakra accused of links to friend’s death in Odisha
The body of the man, a childhood friend of Lakra from Odisha’s Sundargarh district, was found hanging in an apartment in Bhubaneswar on February 28, shortly after he arrived in the city from Sundargarh.
Birendra Lakra, the 32-year-old Olympian who was the captain of the Indian men’s hockey team that won a bronze in the just-concluded Asia cup, landed in a controversy after the kin of a 28-year-old man, who allegedly died by suicide in February, accused the him of playing a role in the death.
The body of the man, a childhood friend of Lakra from Odisha’s Sundargarh district, was found hanging in an apartment in Bhubaneswar on February 28, shortly after he arrived in the city from Sundargarh.
He was taken to a hospital in Bhubaneswar, where doctors declared him dead.
The 28-year-old man’s father on Sunday alleged that he suspected the involvement of Lakra and a woman named Manjeet Tete behind the death of his son.
“He did not give any coherent detail... My son was reportedly found dead in the flat in Infocity area at around 10 am shortly after his arrival there. Only Lakra and the woman named Manjeet Tete were present in the flat... The woman first saw my son hanging and brought him down. This story and the circumstances in which my son was found dead raise serious doubts,” he alleged.
Lakra did not answer phone calls and messages seeking a response.
Police were waiting for the viscera report before undertaking further steps, said Samita Mishra, inspector-in-charge of Infocity police station, where the case was registered.
