Anandapur: A CRPF jawan martyred in an encounter with Maoists at West Singhbhum in Jharkhand was a native of Anandapur Municipality area in Keonjhar district. The martyred jawan identified as Susant Kumar Khuntia is the son of the late Atul Charan Khuntia under ward no4 of the civic body. A pall of gloom descended in the area after a report of his death spread. Susant passed his HSC examination from Balabhadra Narayan High School here in 2005. He joined the CRPF in 2011 while doing his graduation at Anandapur College.
Notably, he got married to Purnima, who is working as an ANM in Telkoi hospital, just two months before June 2, 2023. The deceased’s father Atul died in 2020 during Covid-19 pandemic while his middle brother Prasant died April 24, 2022. His elder brother Santosh died of cancer January 28, 2023. His mother Sundari is ailing and undergoing treatment residing at her daughter’s house in Bhubaneswar. The family has lost all its male members after the death of Atul and his three sons. The family members have left their house and shifted to a new house under ward no-6 after suspecting that the deaths might be due to some Vastu problems. The news of Susant’s untimely death has left his wife, friends, family members, and the residents visibly crestfallen. Atul had died during the Covid pandemic while his three sons including Susant have died within a year. Susant’s bed-ridden mother plunged into mourning after losing another son.