Justice Patra consigned to flames

Puri: The last rites of Justice Radha Krushna Patra were performed at Swargadwara here today in the presence of his family members and relatives.

Justice Patra, who passed away in Cuttack this morning at the age of 72, was heading the one-man Commission of Inquiry probing the multi-crore chit fund scam in Odisha.

The former chief justice of Sikkim High Court was admitted to SCB Medical College and Hospital, Cuttack, on last Saturday with complaints of dyspnea, chest congestion and angina.

Expressing his grief over the death, chief minister Naveen Patnaik said, “We are all deeply distressed by the sad demise of Justice R.K. Patra. Odisha has lost an important legal luminary with his passing away. I convey my deepest condolences to the members of his family.”

Orissa HC chief justice Amitava Roy said, “I didn't have personal acquaintance with him. But what I have come to learn is he was a self-made man. From a humble beginning, he rose to become the acting chief justice of Odisha HC and chief justice of Sikkim HC. He proved that by the qualities, a human being can reach every height in life.”

DGP Sanjeev Marik said, “He was a great legal practitioner. I knew him since 1980s. He had knowledge.”