Missing woman cricketer found hanging in Odisha forest
Cuttack, Jan 13: Rajashree Swain, a 26-year-old woman cricketer of Odisha, was found hanging from a tree inside a dense forest in Cuttack district on Friday, the police said.
She was missing since January 11.
Her scooter was found abandoned near the forest.
"A case of unnatural death has been registered in the matter. We found her body hanging from a tree in Gurudijhatia forest in Athagarh area. We will probe the death from all angles," Deputy Commissioner of Police Pinak Mishra said.
The cause of Swain's death will be clear once the post-mortem report arrives, Mishra said.
The cricketer from Puri district was here to attend a training camp organised by the Odisha Cricket Association for an upcoming national-level tournament in Puducherry.
Swain, however, failed to clinch a place in the 16-member team selected for the tournament.
"She was seen crying on Wednesday evening after the names of team members were announced, and went missing from the hotel, where we had all put up for the training session, shortly after," said Swain's roommate.
A missing complaint was lodged at the local Mangalabag police station in Cuttack city by coach Pushpanjali Banerjee, after Swain could not be reached over phone.
Her family members alleged that Swain, a right-arm fast bowler and a middle-order batter, was murdered "as the body bore injury marks and her eyes were damaged".
They also claimed that Swain was refused a berth in the team despite performing better than many others who have been selected.
Subrat Behera, the CEO of the association, said the selection was done in a very transparent manner, expressing shock over the demise of the cricketer.
"If there was prejudice, how is that she found a place in the 25-member probable team, which attended the camp," Behera added.
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Deputy CM Shivakumar fumes at Minister Jarkiholi for his statement on replacing KPCC prez
Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar on Thursday hit out at Minister Satish Jarkiholi for his statement on replacing him as the party's state president.
Shivakumar has been serving as Congress state chief since 2020.
"Can anyone get it (post) in the media? You can't get it in the media or any shop. It is given as a reward for the work we do. Will the media gift it to you. These are new trends," Shivakumar told reporters here.
Jarkiholi on Wednesday sparked a debate within the ruling Congress over the change of the state president, saying a full-time leader was needed to devote more time to the party in the state.
According to him, while there is a lot of discussion happening at the lower levels, it should come from the top.
Later, he clarified that he never spoke about replacing Shivakumar as the Congress president.
Taking a U-turn from his statement apparently after a rap from the party high command, the minister on late Wednesday blamed the media for twisting his statement.
"The reports that appeared in the media are far from truth. Some media reports were made to look grandiose," Jarkiholi, who holds public works portfolio, said in a video statement on his Facebook page.
"I never spoke about replacing D K Shivakumar. I only gave some suggestions keeping in view the party organisation and upcoming elections," he added.
He said such statement should have come from the top, but it came from the ground level, to which he belongs.
Meanwhile, the Congress state working president Manjunath Bhandary on Thursday asked seniors to refrain from making such statements.
The seniors who violate the high command's orders are not disciplined soldiers of the Congress, Bhandary said in a statement.
According to him, the leadership of Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, senior leaders Sonia Gandhi, and Rahul Gandhi are strong in the party.
"The party high command leaders will decide all matters such as when to change the KPCC president and the chief minister, who should continue or who should be the ministers. However, no minister should give a statement in this regard," Bhandary said.
The decision on leadership change should not be discussed with the media. There is a high command in the party. If there are any issues, the party leaders should first bring them to the attention of the high command and not before the media, the Congress working president said.
He added that the high command has sought a report of those who have made such statements.
