Pottangi: In a tragic incident amid Raja festivities, a minor girl died after being struck by lightning at Bundulpadu village under Ralegada panchayat and this block in Koraput district, Friday. The deceased was identified as Maria Tamal, daughter of Ramachandra Tamal, a resident of Bundulpadu village. According to sources, Maria was grazing cattle in an open field at a distance from the village when lightning struck her making her collapse on the ground. Some villagers rescued her in an unconscious state and brought her home.
However, Maria had already died by then. Ramachandra, the father of the deceased, then lodged a written complaint in this regard at the local police station. Informed, police officials reached the spot, seized the body and initiated an investigation into the incident as per the instruction of Pottangi PS IIC Chaturbhuja Nayak. On the other hand, local tehsildar Debendra Bahadur Singh expressed sorrow and assured that proper compensation will be provided to the next of kin of the deceased after getting police investigation and post-mortem reports.