In an unfortunate incident, a young and bright video editor reportedly killed himself by lying on a railway track and subsequently was run over by a speeding train at Patia railway station in the Capital city late Wednesday night. He was just 21.
He was identified as Partha Narayan Das, working as a Video Editor in OTV English portal. Hailing from Lambhitala village under Brahmagiri police limits in Puri district, he resided in a rented house in Prashanti Vihar area near KIIT square in Bhubaneswar.
His mutilated body was recovered from the rail tracks at Patia railway station. It is suspected he committed suicide by lying on a railway track while a train ran over him.
The incident has spread a pall of gloom. The unexpected death of the young video professional has left his family and colleagues deeply shocked. Colleagues expressed condolences over his untimely death.
It is learnt that Partha was under depression over past couple of days due to some financial issues. He had availed some advance money from the office.
On the other hand, his close friends revealed that he was addicted to an online game and might have lost all his money there. Moreover, he had asked his mother to send him Rs 30,000 last evening for reasons best known to him.
However, no exact reason for his extreme step was known ascertained as of yet.
On the other hand, his cousin brother has claimed that Partha was not someone who would commit suicide. He never had any dispute with anyone, his brother added.
“I don’t usually talk to him much. But, he always talked to his mother. He was a very disciplined boy. He never had any issues with anyone,” said his father.
On the other hand, his brother Prasanna Kumar Pradhan said, “He was a very good boy. He was a good student. He was working with OTV for last 2.5 years and send money home. We still are not sure what forced him to take the extreme step.”
“He had called his mother at around 6pm yesterday evening. He asked her to send him Rs 30,000 for some personal reasons. He never asks for money. Instead, he sends money home. But, for the first time, he asked money from his mother. Without the knowledge of her father, Partha’s mother sent him money through PhonePe. We also have proof.”
“He received the money at 4:20 pm and talked to him between 6-6:20pm. But, he had informed his mother that he was under work pressure. But, his mother had told him that we are from poor background, and our survival depends on hard work.”
“We cannot say, if he has committed suicide or someone has killed him in a pre-planned manner. I have hope for proper investigation and justice,” he added.
Expressing shock, Sisir Mishra, Digital Head, OTV News, said, “He was a very good boy. He was good in his work too. There were no signs or symptoms of him being suicidal. He had come to work yesterday and left at around 6pm. He also had a game of ‘carrom’ with his friends before leaving office. We are in shock after hearing the news. Almost 20-25 days back, he had approached me and narrated how he was in a problem and needed some money. I had informed the management and the management also provided him with financial support.”
“Later, he told me that the problem was solved. Thereon, I often asked him if he was well and had a little talks with him. I also encouraged him to open up with me, if he was in any problem. But, he said, he was doing well. He came to office as usual. Yesterday also, he had come to office. Now, we are shocked as to why he took such an extreme step,” he added.
Meanwhile, his friend Kartik Sahu said, “We went to the same institute and with time became good friends. We also joined OTV at the same time. As far as office is concerned, he was happy with his work and never wanted to quit or anything as such. He was a jolly, jovial natured man.”
“Yesterday, he left after duty. But, for some reason he was a little upset. He did not tell anything. All of a sudden, we learnt about his death late in the night. Till now, we are not sure why he took such an extreme step.”
Talking about his game addiction, his friend said, “He used to play ‘free fire’. He also used to talk about offers on apps. I’m not sure, if he had betted money on some online game or anything as such. But, he used to avail money from online apps many times and also used to repay. But, we are still not sure why he took such an extreme step.”
IIC said, “The inquest has been completed. We have contacted his family members. Prime facie, it is a case of suicide over some reasons. We are waiting for the post-mortem report. Probe is on to ascertain the reason of his suicide.
Everything will be confirmed at taking the statements of his family members and examining circumstantial circumstances. Now, the matter is under investigation.”
“Locals who spotted the body informed us that he had committed suicide. But, our probe is on. We will verify from all angles and see if their parents suspecting murder is true. But, preliminary probe reveals he was under stress due to financial constraint.”