BALANGIR: In a heart-rending incident, a 17-year-old youth allegedly ended his life after the news of his mother's death Malati Mahakud (50) reached him in Kanut village under Belpada police limits of the district.
Malati succumbed to burn injuries sustained in the gas cylinder fire that occurred in the village on February 10. Belpada IIC Sushant Das said, Malati’s son Drona Mahakud died by suicide after hearing the death news of his mother. “He hanged himself with his mother’s saree in his house,” stated Das.
She is the fourth casualty after three others, Bhanumati Adabaria (60), Bhairabi Adabaria (57), and Maheswar Adabaria (23), perished while undergoing treatment at the hospital.
On the fateful day, a group of six persons, including a man and five women, were watching television in the house of Bhanumati. All of a sudden, the cooking gas cylinder caught fire due to a leak. While all present in the house suffered burn injuries in the fire, three died on Friday. Two are under treatment at JP Hospital, Rourkela.
Local authorities, including block development officer Rajesh Meher and Belpada tehsildar Bana Bihari Harpal reached the vilage and provided assistance to the victims’ families. They handed over a cheque of `10,000 from the Red Cross fund to the father of one of the deceased. Additionally, the administration covered the ambulance costs for transporting the deceased back to the village, assuring of further support for carrying Malati’s body.