Tokyo 2020 bronze medalist Birendra Lakra accused of killing flatmate
(Twitter)
Birendra Lakra, a former Indian hockey player who won bronze at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, is suspected of killing his roommate Anand Toppo over four months after the latter's passing. On February 28, earlier this year, Toppo was mysteriously discovered dead at an apartment in Bhubaneswar.
His parents have now publicly charged Birendra Lakra with being responsible for their son's premature passing. Bandan Toppo, Anand's father, said that Lakra had notified him of his son's passing on February 28 but offered no specifics as to what had happened. He claims that only Lakra and a female named Manjeet Tete were at the apartment at the time the crime took place.
Bandan also said that after receiving the news, he hurried from Rourkela to Bhubaneswar and attempted to file a report, but the police were unresponsive.
"I was told that Manjeet was in the bathroom and Birendra was in the drawing-room when my son took the extreme step. The girl first saw Anand hanging and brought him down. This story and the circumstances in which my son was found dead raise serious doubts. My repeated efforts to seek a detailed investigation by the Commissioner and DCP of Bhubaneswar were turned down. It seems the police are trying to hush up the case by giving it a colour of unnatural death case as Birendra is a Deputy SP and a big name in hockey," Bandan was quoted as saying.
After India's victorious Olympic campaign at the 2020 Tokyo Games, Birendra Lakra declared his departure from hockey. However, the 32-year-old made a comeback to play earlier this year in the Men's Asia Cup when he led a young Indian team in the continental competition.
