Youth's death sparks protest in Puri

Puri: Tension prevailed at Arala village under Chandanpur police limits after locals on Saturday staged a demonstration demanding compensation for the family of a youth, who died after drowning in a pond.

The youth identified as Naba Pradhan had died after slipping into a pond while trying to fetch water to extinguish fire in the village on Friday night.

According to reports, three miscreants had earlier set the house of one Rabi Jena on fire. After getting information about the fire mishap, Naba had swung into action to douse the flames with assistance from other villagers.

Though villagers had informed the fire brigade about the fire mishap at around 11 pm yesterday, fire tenders arrived at the spot at around 2 am which led to resentment among the locals.

Following the incident, locals today staged a demonstration by placing Naba's body and blocking the road near Ruan.

Senior officials of Chandanpur police station and Tehsildar have reached the spot to take stock of the situation.