BERHAMPUR: A farmer died in a freak mishap while threshing paddy in Ganjam district on Tuesday. The deceased has been identified as E Arjun (21) of Ekasingi village under Golonthara police limits.
He had hired a machine to separate paddy grains from the stalks. While removing paddy straw from the machine, his hand got stuck inside it and got severed from the body.
A profusely bleeding Arjun was rushed to Girisola health centre where the doctor declared him brought dead. As the news of his death spread, villagers detained the machine operator. However, police rushed to the spot and rescued him. A case has been registered.
In another case at Balipada-Tikarpada village under Sadar police limits, a tractor caught fire while it was being used for threshing paddy.
Along with the vehicle, 500 kg of paddy was destroyed in the fire. Fortunately, no casualty was reported. Firefighters rushed to the spot and doused the flames.