Bhubaneswar: Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi on Sunday announced an ex gratia of Rs 10 lakh and a government job for an eligible family member of a home guard from Kendujhar district who died under mysterious circumstances while on duty during the Rath Yatra in Puri.
The deceased, identified as Pradeep Kumar Mahanta, was a resident of Hundapitha village under Ghatgaon police station in Kendujhar district. He was among 50 home guards from the district who had been deployed in Puri for security arrangements during the annual chariot festival.
According to officials, Mahanta was sleeping with his colleagues in a room at Satyabhama English Medium School, where the home guards had been accommodated, after completing his duty on Saturday night. At around midnight, he reportedly woke up suddenly and vomited. His colleagues noticed white foam coming out of his mouth and immediately rushed him to Sakhigopal Community Health Centre (CHC).
However, doctors at the CHC declared him brought dead.
Expressing grief over the incident, the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO), in a post on X, said Majhi had sanctioned an ex gratia of Rs 10 lakh from the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund (CMRF) for the next of kin of the deceased. The state government has also decided to provide employment as a home guard to an eligible member of Mahanta’s family.
The Chief Minister conveyed his condolences to the bereaved family and prayed for the eternal peace of the departed soul.
The exact cause of Mahanta’s death is yet to be ascertained.
