A judge at a special Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Pocso) court in Odisha’s Cuttack was found hanging at his residence on Friday.
Police suspect Subash Kumar Bihari, 49, has died by suicide. His body was found hanging from a ceiling fan at his home in the Sector-9 CDA area. Cuttack assistant commissioner of police Tapas Chandra Pradhan told reporters: “Prime facie it seems to be a case of suicide. We have seized a rope and a sickle. His neck bore a deep mark. No one was at home when the incident took place. We are looking at all angles.”
The police said Judge Bihari’s wife had gone to drop their two daughters to school and Bihari had sent away the official attendant.“When his wife returned home, she found the door locked from inside. With the help of neighbours, she broke open the front door and entered the house. They found his body hanging,” an officer said.Bihari was rushed to a nearby hospital where he was declared dead on arrival.
“A forensic team has inspected the spot. The inquest will be completed soon. We are yet to question the family members,” Pradhan said.An official attached to Judge Bihari’s office told reporters: “Subash Sir was on two days’ leave. He was supposed to join duty today. But at 10.30am he called me up and asked me to send an application to the higher authorities for extending his leave by one more day.” Partha Babu, a lawyer, said: “He was nice to everyone and treated everyone, including officers, members of the Bar and litigants, with respect. We are yet to find out what drove him to suicide.”
