Bhubaneswar, May 19: A sub-inspector working for Cuttack-Bhubaneswar police here died this morning after falling off the balcony of his official residence.

He had been suspended after vigilance officials charged him in a bribery case three months ago.

Krushna Chandra Behera, 53, from Chhatrapur in Ganjam district, was posted at Mancheswar police station. Following a post-mortem at Capital Hospital, his body was handed over to his family members. Behera’s family members said he was sleeping in a chair on the second-floor balcony of the government building located on the Mancheswar police station compound last night.

“Around 2am, he fell from the balcony while asleep. Hearing a sound, I woke up and saw he had fallen. I called my sons and the neighbours and we rushed him to a hospital. He was speaking after being admitted to the hospital, but died in the morning,” said his wife Laxmi Behera.

Inspector in charge of Mancheswar police station Bharat Sahu said no one knew under what circumstances he fell from the balcony.

“Some of the police station employees on night duty saw him fall. They immediately informed his family members and then rushed the injured sub-inspector to the hospital. He had internal injuries and this morning, he died,” said Sahu. The cops have registered a case of unnatural death.

Officials at Mancheswar police station, who were Behera’s colleagues, said that ever since he was suspended from duty, he was upset. “We think he was falsely implicated,” said one of his colleagues. Behera had three children — two sons and a daughter. Vigilance officials said that his case was under investigation and they were to chargesheet him. “As the accused is dead, the case will be closed and we will inform the court about the development,” said a vigilance officer.