Keonjhar: Mystery shrouded the death of a businessman of Odisha’s Champua town in Keonjhar district, whose body was recovered from the Baitarani river on Tuesday.
The deceased has been identified as Basanta Patra. He owned a shop in Champua town.
According to sources, Patra reportedly parked his scooter on Baitarani bridge along Odisha-Jharkhand border and jumped into the river on Monday night.
Earlier, his family members had sought help of Champua police to trace him when he did not return home till late in the night. His scooter on the bridge raised suspicion that he might have jumped into the river. A search operation was then carried out by the local fire brigade and the body was finally spotted in Baitarani waters on the other side of the bridge in Jharkhand.
Jharkhand police have seized his scooter and also initiated a probe. The circumstances leading to his death, however, are yet to be ascertained.
It is worth mentioning here that Odisha and Jharkhand are separated by River Baitarani near Champua in Keonjhar district.
