Bhubaneswar, Jan 11 (IANS): In a shocking incident, a Block Development Officer in Odisha's Balasore district was found hanging in his official residence on Thursday afternoon, police said.

BDO, Simulia, Biswaranjan Mohanty, 58, was a resident of Mayurbhanj district and had reportedly been transferred to Simulia around two months back. He had gone to the office at 11 am and left after an hour, saying he was feeling unwell.

“Today, we saw the BDO returning to his quarters from office in his official vehicle at around 12 pm. Meanwhile, we came to know that he was unwell and reached his quarters to enquire about health condition at 3 p.m. We found the door had been locked from inside and knocked at the door but received no response. We asked the workers working here and his driver who said that BDO was inside. Suspecting something wrong, we informed the block office staff and police," said a local.

Police broke into his quarters in presence of a tehsildar and found him hanging from the ceiling fan with his towel. His body was brought down and later sent to a nearby hospital for post-mortem examination while a scientific team and police have started examinations at the place.

"Our team is investigating at the spot to find out the causes behind the incident," Superintendent, Balasore, Sagarika Nath, said.

Meanwhile, the deceased BDO’s father alleged that the Collector used to assign his son several tasks and also refused to allow him to go on leave. He had not gone to his house since October 22, 2023 and was under severe mental depression, he added.

Mohanty was scheduled to retire from service after about two years.

On the other hand, Collector Dattatraya Bhausaheb Shinde denied the allegations and said investigations will be held over the allegations of job pressure.