Severed head in road mishap puts Cuttack cops in tizzy

Cuttack, Jan 5: Cuttack city police are now in a tizzy over a road mishap involving a two-wheeler in which the head of the pillion rider was severed from the body while the rider escaped with a minor head injury.

Heavily starched strings (manja) used for kite flying is believed to be cause of the fatal mishap but investigating police are yet to ascertain the cause. Police said the accident took place late yesterday evening on the Ring Road near Rajabagicha under Badambadi police station.

Satyaranjan Behera (26) of Jhangirmangala was pillion riding with Rakesh Behera of Peethapur in a bike which hit a pedestrian Kanhu Naik of nearby Police Colony. Kanhu also succumbed to his injuries in hospital while undergoing treatment, police said.

“While Rakesh and Kanhu suffered head injuries in the accident, Satyaranjan died on the spot with his severed head lying about 20 feet away from his body”, said Badambadi police inspector S N Pati today.

Although, police have retrieved some broken manja from the spot, Satyaranjan’s relatives refuse to buy the manja story and attribute motive to the fatal mishap. “We are investigating into this unusual fatal incident from all angles and waiting for the post mortem report to ascertain the cause of severed head”, said Pati adding Rakesh, who is now recuperating in his home is not able to recollect anything.

PTI