Three days after the massive explosion occurred at a petrol pump near the Raj Bhavan in Bhubaneswar, family members of a person, who is still missing following the incident, conducted a symbolic funeral in his name at Gahangu villager under Aska block in Ganjam district on Saturday.
According to reports, Simanchala Parida of Gahangu village was working at the CNG sale unit inside the petrol pump campus and went missing following the explosion.
While he is still missing, findings of a wallet containing his photograph and scattered human flesh from the spot have forced family members to believe that he is no more.It was a heart-wrenching scene when a symbolic body made of paddy straw was carried to the village graveyard in a procession at Gahangu and then cremated amid Hindu rituals.Simanchala was the only son among seven children of his parents. He is survived by his wife Premalata, 9-year-old son Premananda and four-year-old daughter Manisha.
Earlier, Simanchala, a Diploma degreeholder, was engaged at a firm in Kolkata earlier. He had joined the CNG unit on October 6, a day before the explosion. His family members searched him everywhere in Bhubaneswar, but got no clue of his whereabouts.
On Friday, police found Simanchala’s photograph, his ATM card from a wallet and scattered human flesh during search at the incident site. With these recoveries, the family took him as dead in the explosion.
The Commissionerate Police has sent the pieces of flesh recovered at the site to the forensic laboratory for the test. The police also decided to conduct DNA test by collecting samples of Simanchala’s family members for confirmation.