Odisha man ties up 40-yr-old son, leaves him to die in the sun: Police

The Odisha Police said the unemployed man recently attacked his mother and beat her up till she ended up with a fracture in her hip

Updated on: Jun 13, 2022, 15:22:04 IST

By Debabrata Mohanty

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A 65-year-old man tied up his unemployed 40-year-old son and left him to die under the afternoon sun in Odisha’s Keonjhar district, police said on Monday after the suspect, a roadside food stall owner, was detained. The son, Sumant Nayak, died a few hours later on Saturday.

The Odisha Police said the father told investigators that he did not repent killing his 40-year-old son (Bloomberg File Photo/Representative Image)

Police said it appeared that Panua Nayak wanted to punish his son for beating his mother who ended up with a fractured hip two days earlier. The father allegedly told the police that he did not repent killing his son.

Sub-inspector Tapan Kumar Jena of Ghatagon police station said Panua Nayak has been detained and will be arrested on murder charges once the autopsy report confirms his version.

The incident took place in the Sanamasinabila village under the district’s Ghatagon block on Saturday. “Panua tied his son Sumant’s hands and legs with a plastic rope and left him under the scorching sun at about 2 pm which allegedly led to his son’s death. He did not even give him a drop of water despite his pleas,” police officer Jena said.

Panua runs a roadside food stall along the National, Highway 220.

“On Thursday, an inebriated Sumant thrashed his mother and often used to beat his wife. When he started fighting with his father on Saturday, Panua decided to teach him a lesson and tied his hands and legs and left him in the open,” police said.

On Saturday, weather officials said Koenjhar district recorded a maximum temperature of 36.6 degrees Celsius but it felt like more than 40 degrees Celsius due to a 56% humidity.

Dr Jayant Panda, head of the department of medicine in SCB Medical College and Hospital at Cuttack said: “People who are either old or too young or have health issues like diabetes or blood pressure are at the risk of suffering hypothermia once they are exposed to high temperature. People who don’t have air coolers or fans or those who work outside their homes suffer the most”.

“Once a person suffers heatstroke they have to be immediately treated,” he said.

So far, according to revenue and disaster management department officials, 10 people have died of sunstroke in Odisha this year

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Debabrata Mohanty
Debabrata Mohanty is a senior assistant editor of Hindustan Times who works as state correspondent from Odisha covering the state's politics, governance, public policy, natural disasters, environment and its society for close to three decades. With his long years of reporting from the state capital of Bhubaneswar, Mohanty has been known as one of the most experienced and credible journalists covering Odisha for the national English dailies. His reporting combines on-ground detail with deep institutional knowledge detailing the state's changing politics, governance issues, administrative reforms and the functioning of its public institutions. He has regularly reported on issues ranging from legislative developments and public policy implementation. Politics is his core areas of expertise as he closely tracks Odisha's political landscape, including the rise and transformation of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Biju Janata Dal (BJD), the two principal political parties in Odisha. His long association with the state's political establishment enables him to write on contemporary developments in a larger political context. Mohanty takes a deep interest in writing human interest stories, environmental issues and documenting the impact of cyclones, floods, heatwaves, and other climate-related events in one of the most disaster-prone states. His coverage extends to public health, governance reforms and stories on accountability of government institutions. Before joining Hindustan Times, Mohanty worked with The Indian Express, Mail Today, and The Telegraph, where he covered at least six general elections and as many assembly elections. In 2007, he was selected for the prestigious Chevening Young Indian Print Journalist Programme at the University of Lincoln, United Kingdom, where he received advanced training in print journalism. In 2009 he won the Press Institute of India-International Committee of Red Cross award on conflict reporting for his on-ground reportage of 2008 Kandhamal riots.Read More

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