Hampi Lake Horror: A Promise That Odisha Avid Traveller Bibhas Nayak Could Not Keep

PC: Bibhas Nayak/Instagram

Bhubaneswar: It was a promise to his mother which he could not keep as a cruel twist in fate snatched away the younger son of the family from Odisha.

Bibhas Nayak (29) drowned on March 6 while trying to save two co-travellers, who were allegedly raped by three men near Tungabhadra canal close to Sanapur lake in Koppal, around 25 km from the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Hampi. His body was recovered from the canal on March 8.

Two days before the horror unfolded, he had assured his mother after receiving a call from her that he would meet her on March 10 in Agra, where his parents reside.

According to reports, Bibhas had quit his job at the St Stephen’s Hospital in New Delhi four months back and was travelling solo around the country on his bike. He had reached Hampi last week.

He was the son of BK Nayak, bishop of Agra Diocese and moderator of the Church of North India (CNI) Synod. They are originally from Derabadi village in the Kandhamal region of Odisha.

Hundreds of people had gathered for his funeral procession at G Udayagiri on Sunday.

Bibahas did his schooling from Stewart School in Bhubaneswar before moving to Chennai for higher studies. He obtained his BBA from Madras Christian College and later completed his MBA in Mumbai.