Bhubaneswar: A wave of grief swept through Ishani village under Remuna block of Balasore district as the mortal remains of Prasant Kumar Satpathy, the Odia tourist killed in the recent terror attack in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir, were laid to rest today with full state honors.
Satpathy, 43, an accounts assistant at the Central Institute of Plastics Engineering and Technology (CIPET) in Balasore, was among the 26 victims who lost their lives in the brutal firing incident that has shocked the entire nation.
Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi visited the bereaved family in their native village to pay his respects and announced a comprehensive relief package for the family. “The state government will provide an ex gratia of Rs 20 lakh to the family of Prasant Satpathy, offer a government job to his wife, and bear the educational expenses of his son,” said the Chief Minister while addressing the grieving villagers.
The Chief Minister was joined by Deputy Chief Minister Kanak Vardhan Singh Deo, Revenue Minister Suresh Pujari, BJP State President Manmohan Samal, PCC President Bhakta Charan Das, and Director General of Police YB Khurania, who were all present at the Biju Patnaik International Airport in Bhubaneswar as the body arrived early Thursday morning on a special flight from Srinagar via New Delhi.
Family members, including Satpathy’s wife Priyadarshani, son Tanuj, younger brother Jayant, and relatives Manoranjan and Ratnashri Mohanty, accompanied the body on its final journey home. Hundreds gathered at the airport and in the village, chanting patriotic slogans such as “Bharat Mata Ki Jai” and “Prasant Satpathy Amar Rahe”, expressing both grief and reverence for the departed soul.
The district administration made arrangements for the final rites, which were conducted with solemn dignity as villagers came together in mourning and solidarity.
