Cooch Behar: The Sikkim disaster claimed the life of a young man from Dinhata, casting a shadow of grief over the entire village.
According to police sources, Rahul Modak (27), a resident of the Rayerkuthi area in Dinhata was employed at a private bank in Sikkim.
Rahul and his friend were residing in a rented house in Sikkim. On Tuesday night, while he was sleeping at home, he tragically fell victim to a flash flood and landslide in Sikkim. His body was recovered from the Gazaldoba area of Jalpaiguri on Wednesday night.
Rahul’s aunt, Ratna Sarkar, stated: “He used to live in Rangpo, Sikkim. Rahul’s last conversation with his mother was on Tuesday at 11 pm. The family received news of the flood on Wednesday but couldn’t reach Rahul. I received news of his body’s recovery this morning. Subsequently, Rahul’s father identified his son and left for Siliguri.”
Rahul’s uncle, Ajit Kumar Modak, added: “The body will be brought home tonight after the autopsy.”
Meanwhile, several bodies were spotted floating in the Teesta River on Thursday. A corpse was found in the Mekhliganj section of the Teesta River in Cooch Behar district. According to police sources, the body of a man aged between 30 and 35 was found in the Teesta River in Sing Para village, near Kuchlibari PS on the Mekhliganj border. However, the body was recovered at Thanarhat, near the Bangladesh border, approximately 200 meters from the Indian border, by the Bangladesh Border Guard (BGB). The body will be handed over to the Border Security Force (BSF) after a flag meeting between BSF and BGB.
Superintendent of Police, Khandabahale Umesh Ganapat, reported that 15 bodies recovered so far, although their identities remain unknown. It has been confirmed that 8 bodies were discovered in the Maynaguri Block III in Jalpaiguri Sadar Block II in Malbazar Block, and 2 in Kranti Block. All recovered bodies have been transported to the Jalpaiguri Medical College Mortuary.