Puri: In a bizarre incident that took place Tuesday evening, a youth died after falling into an open drain near Market Chhak of Badadanda (grand road) in Puri town.
The deceased has been identified as Geda Sahu of Khandia Bandha locality and he was a rickshaw puller, a senior police official said.
According to the source, the youth probably fell into the open drain by chance and could not come out of it and later succumbed.
Kumbharpada police was informed by some locals about the incident. Following which, a team of police reached the spot and launched a detailed probe. Police have recovered the body and sent it to Puri district headquarters hospital (DHH) for post-mortem.
Slabs of the drain were earlier removed for cleaning purposes.
On the other hand, a number of local residents blamed the civic administration for untimely death of the youth. Despite their repeated requests to cover the drain, the civic body did not pay any heed, some of the residents alleged.
PNN