Bhubaneswar: An Army jawan from Odisha who was missing in Sikkim flash floods along with 22 other army personnel was found dead Thursday, family members said.
Saroj Kumar Das, a resident of Kendudhipa village of Odisha’s Dhenkanal district, was at the Army camp when a sudden cloudburst triggered flash flood in Teesta river in North Sikkim on early hours of Wednesday.
Since then, he was missing. Manoj, the elder brother of Saroj, got a call from army authorities this afternoon to identify his brother from five bodies recovered from the flood-hit area.
“The army officials sent me pictures of five bodies recovered from the flood-hit area. I identified my brother Saroj among them,” Manoj said.
A pall of gloom descended on the Kendudhipa village following the death of Saroj.
After getting information, Dhenkanal Collector Saroj Kumar Sethi visited the bereaved family to pay condolences.
“Family members have informed us that the mortal remains of Saroj will reach the village Friday. His last rites will be performed with full state honour. The state government will also provide ex-gratia as per norms to his family,” Sethi told reporters.
Meanwhile, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik expressed grief over the sad demise of the army jawan Saroj and paid condolences to his family.
“I am saddened to hear about the martyrdom of Odia jawan Saroj Kumar Das in an incident that occurred due to the floods in Sikkim. His sacrifice in the service of the country will always be remembered. May his soul rest in peace. I pay my condolences to the bereaved family members,” Patnaik said on X.
Saroj joined the Indian Army in 2012. He got married in February this year. He had visited home in August and returned to base camp in September after Raksha Bandhan.
He had called the family during the daytime of Tuesday, his brother Manoj said.
PTI