22-year-old promising Odisha woman cricketer found dead in jungle, family members allege murder

OCA dismisses allegation of discrimination in selection process

By Shrikant Panda

Cuttack. 13: A 22-year-old promising woman cricketer who reportedly went missing under mysterious circumstances two days ago was on Friday found hanging from a tree in a dense forest near Athagarh in Cuttack district.

The deceased was identified as Rajashree Swain. She hailed from Puri district.

Prima facie, it appeared to be a case of suicide, the police said.

Earlier, Mangalabag police had recovered the scooter and a helmet belonging to Rajashree. As per the police, Rajashree’s phone got switched off near the forest. Based on her last mobile network location, cops had launched a manhunt. Her body was later recovered hanging from a tree in the dense forest under Gurudijhatia police limits. The young cricketer had been missing for the last three days.

Earlier, the Odisha Cricket Association (OCA) had lodged a missing person’s complaint with Mangalabag police in Cuttack. The young cricketer was part of a 25-member team that had participated in a cricket training camp. However, she was reportedly under stress for not being able to make it to the final team. She had gone missing from January 11.

Rajashree’s family members said, “She had come to Cuttack for a selection camp. She was staying at Palace Hotel in Cuttack. After the 10-day selection camp, she was discriminately dropped from the final team although she was the best player among the 25 players. She was under severe stress and had called her sister. She also informed me that she was not included in the team although she was an all-rounder and had the best records among all,”

Rajashree’s sister also claimed that the former was under stress and sad as she was not included in the squad.

The Odisha Cricket Association, in a statement, ruled out any discrimination in the selection process and said the final 16 players were chosen by an experienced team of selectors.

Cuttack Superintendent of Police (SP) Pinak Mishra said the investigating officers would probe all angles to ascertain the reasons of death.

“The police would try to probe all angles to ascertain the reasons the death and establish if she committed suicide or was killed,” said the SP.