A 24-year-old youth from Bolangir, Sambit Tripathy, was found dead in a power canal near Burla.
He had gone missing two days earlier after leaving VIMSAR hospital, where his mother was undergoing treatment for a critical illness.
Sambit, a budding mountaineer from Mahalaxminagar, had accompanied his mother to the hospital. Witnesses reported that he appeared emotionally distressed after seeing her condition. On Wednesday night around 10 p.m., he walked out of the hospital and did not return.
Before disappearing, Sambit sent a message to his mother’s mobile phone expressing his emotional pain. In the message, he wrote, “Papa and Ma, I love you very much. I am going to end my life in the canal. I have no money. All my details are in the bag. There is ₹12,000 in the ATM. Please collect it.”
His family filed a missing person report at Burla police station. On Friday morning, police and fire services launched a search operation in the canal. Led by officer Bharat Lal Ekka, the rescue team recovered Sambit’s body.
Locals identified Sambit as a promising athlete with a passion for mountaineering. His death shocked the community and raised concerns about mental health awareness and emotional support for caregivers.
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