Bhadrak: A severely injured Plus II student was recovered from a canal in Odisha’s Bhadrak district early Tuesday morning.
The victim, identified as Rajeev Lochan Pani, is undergoing treatment at district headquarters hospital here. His condition is stated to be critical.
According to sources, locals spotted him floating in Panichhatra canal under Rural police limits and rushed to rescue him. They then informed police, his family and took him to the hospital in an ambulance. “I received a call at 6.15 am informing me about an injured boy lying near the canal. I rushed to the spot with my younger son. My child was lying there, covered in blood. There wa
s blood everywhere. He could barely speak… He couldn’t even open his eyes properly,” his mother Sumitra Pani recounted in distress.
He has sustained severe injuries in his stomach, neck, eyes, nose, head, chest, back, and face, requiring more than 60 stitches.
She further stated that Rajeev had left home at 7 pm on Monday. Although his phone was later found switched off, his unsuspecting family assumed it had simply run out of battery.
Sumitra claimed that her son identified a friend, Abhishek Nayak, as the attacker. “He told us that Abhishek dragged him to the canal and assaulted him. The canal road is unsafe after dark. Why did he take my son there? Abhisek’s mother is also calling and asking mutual friends if Rajeev was alive. They wanted my son dead,” she alleged.
The attacker allegedly robbed him of a gold bracelet, mobile phone, cash, and other valuables before fleeing.
Bhadrak Rural Police have registered a case and launched an investigation, examining all angles including statements of the victim and his family members.