Missing youth's body found after car plunges into Birupa river in Cuttack

Cuttack: A day after one person went missing and another was rescued after their car plunged into Birupa river in Odisha's Cuttack district, ODRAF personnel recovered the untraceable victim's body during an ongoing search operation today. The deceased identified as Atul alias Udit Narayan Sahu (22) of Lingipur under Dhauli police limits in Bhubaneswar. He was a law student.

While the car and his mobile were retrieved last night, his body was recovered in the morning. Udit had gone missing after driving his car into the river in Jagatpur's Pandasahi area on Wednesday night. His friend Anshuman Panda, also from Lingipur, was rescued by local residents soon after the mishap. He has been admitted to SCB Medical College and Hospital in critical condition.

As per reports, Udit, Anshuman and three other friends had travelled from Bhubaneswar to Cuttack earlier in the day to attend the inauguration of a restaurant at Chauliaganj. After the event, they headed towards Birupa river with  help of Google Maps. While three of their companions stayed back near the river, Atul and Anshuman drove to a shop on IB Road near Narayan Vihar to buy some items. It is suspected that while returning to the riverbank, their car veered off the road and plunged into the river.

A  frantic search-and-rescue effort was initiated soon after Fire services were alerted. Later, ODRAF teams and scuba divers participated in the rescue efforts. Meanwhile, some local youths displayed remarkable courage by rescuing Anshuman from the water. Udit, however, went missing.

Body found after extensive search operation

Authorities initially feared that he might still be trapped inside the vehicle. But when the car was pulled out of the river late at night, Udit was not found inside the vehicle. 

Witnesses claim that even though the car’s lights remained visible underwater for a long time, the Fire Service teams struggled initially to locate the exact spot.

Following DCP Rishikesh Khilari's intervention, Fire Service units from Tangi, Choudwar and Chauliaganj, along with ODRAF and scuba divers, carried out extensive search operations. Former MLA Dr. Prabhat Ranjan Biswal, Zone-2 ACP Arun Kumar Swain, District Fire Officer Sanjeeb Behera and Jagatpur IIC Aniruddha Nayak were present at the spot to oversee the ongoing rescue efforts.

Also read: After missing for 3 months, Odisha lawyer's body and car recovered from pond in Mayurbhanj