Navy Official From Odisha ‘Missing’ on His Way to Kerala; Family Lodges Police Complaint

Bhubaneswar: A 26-year-old junior-level Navy official went "missing" after he left his home town Berhampur in Odisha’s Ganjam district to join duty at a Naval unit in Kerala's Kochi, his family said on Wednesday.

The Navy official, identified as Sourav Kumar Patra, joined the Indian Navy in 2019, and came to his home in December last year to attend a marriage ceremony, said Sameer Patra, Sourav’s brother.

“He left home early morning on January 19 and took a train to Visakhapatnam from where he was supposed to catch a flight at 12:30 pm for Kochi. However, his mobile phone remained switched off since January 19 morning,” the Navy official's brother said.

His family members lodged a missing complaint with the Berhampur Town Police Station on Wednesday, based on which a case was registered and a probe initiated, a senior officer said.

Sameer requested the Odisha Police and the Indian Navy to trace his brother at the earliest.

"During preliminary investigation, the police found that Sourav’s last mobile location was at Ichchapuram, a nearby station from Berhampur. Further investigation is under progress," the police officer said. 

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