Noted Odia actor dies by suicide; CBI probe demanded

Renowned Odia and Bengali film actor Raimohan Parida was found hanging at his residence at Prachi Vihar in Mancheswar police limits in Bhubaneswar on Friday.

As per the initial reports, Parida died by hanging himself to death. However, the reason behind this remained unclear and has created many doubts among the people as his leg was found touching the ground.

The police officials of Mancheswar recovered the body from his residence and sent it to the Capital Hospital for post-mortem, after which the body was sent to Utkal Sangeet Mahavidyalaya.

Over the actor's demise, state Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik took to Twitter and expressed grief and said, "I am saddened to learn about the untimely demise of Raimohan Parida. His absence will always be felt in various fields of art, from drama to Jatra and film. He will be remembered for his impeccable acting. My sincere condolences to the bereaved family."

The student and actor Sairam, popularly known as the Silver Gandhi of India, paid his last tribute to the deceased 58-year-old film actor and demanded a CBI or crime branch probe into the suspicious death of Parida.

The entire Odia film industry is currently shocked by the news of Parida's untimely death. Hundreds of Odia actors, co-actors and fans thronged his residence after receiving the news.
Odia film director, Chandi Prasad who had directed a number of films with the late actor said, "Why would Raimohan commit suicide? He had his own home, conducted the marriage of one daughter and was a monetary sound person. I don't find any source that can force him to take such an extreme step."

Expressing grief, noted actor and former Member of Parliament Siddhant Mahapatra said, "It is hard to believe that an actor, who has seen several ups and downs in life, can think of doing something like this... as he was quite successful."

Meanwhile, Odia film actress Usasi Mishra said, "We Odia film artists are very strong mentally because we got kicks and struggled so much to survive during the initial days in the industry. Raimohan Parida was an established artist and a mentally strong person, why would he do so?"

"We met him on last Thursday during the morning and he appeared quite normal. We cannot believe that Raimohan, who is loved by all, has committed suicide," one of the late actor's neighbours said.

Parida, who was known for his negative roles, is a native of the Keonjhar district and had played roles in more than 90 Odia and 15 Bengali films.

(ANI)