CUTTACK: A car was found abandoned on the Mahanadi bridge near Mundali on Friday, prompting fire service personnel and ODRAF teams to launch a search operation in the river.
This comes a day after a 27-year-old man fell into the Mahanadi on Thursday after a speeding truck hit his bike. He was rescued by fire service personnel later in the day.
According to the police, the car was traced to Shaktikanta Sahoo (37) of Nayapalli in Bhubaneswar, who has been missing since Thursday evening. Despite an extensive search by both fire service personnel and the ODRAF team, Shaktikanta is yet to be located.
Locals spotted a car parked unusually on the bridge late on Thursday night and informed the Godi Sahi police outpost under Baranga police station. Upon checking the vehicle’s registration number, police confirmed it belonged to Shaktikanta and verified that he had been missing since the previous evening.
“Baranga fire station received a call from the Godi Sahi police outpost at around 2 am about a car parked suspiciously and were advised to remain alert. Later, at around 5 am, the police informed us that his family members had reached the spot and suspected he may have jumped into the river. We immediately launched a search operation,” said assistant fire officer (AFO) Sanjeev Kumar Behera of Cuttack.
A senior police officer said that while the circumstances surrounding his disappearance remain unclear, all possibilities are being probed, including an accident or foul play, to determine the cause of his disappearance, especially since he is well acquainted with swimming.