Odisha journalist’s son ‘didn’t die by drowning’, diatom report awaited

BHUBANESWAR: The commissionerate police, which recovered the body of Manish Anurag Das, son of senior journalist Navin Das, from a pond in Bhubaneswar is pinning their hopes on a diatom test to make headway with the investigation.
Diatoms are photosynthesising algae, which are found in almost every water body. If a person is alive while entering the water, the diatoms will enter the lungs when s/he inhales water in the event of drowning. These diatoms will then travel to various parts of the body through the blood. If a dead person is thrown into the water, s/he cannot breathe, there is no circulation and no movement of diatom cells to various organs.
“We have collected the water sample of the pond and sent it to the state forensic science laboratory. If diatoms are found in Manish’s body, we will match them with the water sample to ascertain whether his death was caused by drowning,” deputy commissioner of police Uma Shankar Dash said.
Though the police did not disclose the findings of the post-mortem report, the doctors, who conducted his autopsy reportedly told the police that Manish did not die by drowning.
“If he did not die by drowning, there is a strong possibility that he was thrown into the pond after his death. We are probing the case from all possible angles,” an official of the Tamando police station said.
The Tamando police on Monday sealed a hotel in Patrapada area where Manish had attended a party with his friends on Saturday night. His body was found in the pond, about 3km from the hotel on Sunday.
The cause and circumstances that led to Manish’s death continued to be shrouded in mystery with the police groping in the dark for vital clues. “We are examining the CCTV footage of the hotel and are questioning those, who were present at the party that night. Manish was seen leaving the hotel around 3.30am on Sunday),” another police official said.
His father on Monday released a video message accusing Manish’s friends of killing him. “Police commissioner Saumendra Priyadarshi has assured me of arresting the killers at the earliest. I have faith on the police,” Navin Das said. Early on Sunday, he lodged a complaint with Infocity police alleging that his son was kidnapped by some unknown persons on Saturday night.
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