BALASORE: A tribal couple was killed and their 12-year-old daughter suffered critical injuries after a mud wall of their thatched house collapsed on them in Basta area of the district on Monday.
The deceased were identified as Pitha Murmu (38) and his wife Minati (35) of Nahadebsarai village within Basta police limits. The couple’s daughter Laxmi sustained grievous injuries in the incident and has been hospitalised.
Sources said after having dinner on Sunday night, Pitha and his five-member family went to bed. In the wee hours of Monday, the mud wall of their room collapsed all of a sudden, crushing Pitha to death in his sleep. Minati and Laxmi sustained critical injuries while Pitha’s two sons had a lucky escape.
On hearing their screams, neighbours reached the spot and rushed Pitha, Minati and Laxmi to Basta hospital in an ambulance. However, Minati succumbed on way. Laxmi was later shifted to Balasore district headquarters hospital due to the severity of her injuries.
On being informed, Basta sub-divisional police officer Manas Kumar Deo, tehsildar Sushant Pattnayak and IIC Ranjit Kumar Sahu reached Nahadebsarai village to take stock of the situation. Tehsildar Pattnayak handed over Rs 20,000 to the bereaved family from the district Red Cross fund.
Police said bodies of the couple were seized and sent for postmortem. An unnatural death case has been registered in this connection. Further investigation is underway.