Little girl's world crumbles as father dies in road overbridge collapse

BHUBANESWAR: Satyabrat Patnaik had promised his daughter that he would pick her up from dance class at Saheed Nagar at 12.15 pm on Sunday. Though he kept a busy schedule, Satyabrat made sure he honoured his commitment, little knowing that it would be the last thing he would ever do.
Satyabrat’s daughter, Sheetal, saw her whole world collapse in the span of a few seconds, just like the road overbridge (ROB) that crushed her father.The 40-year-old businessman from Jharapada died under a shower of debris when the ROB at Bomikhal collapsed on Sunday.
Patnaik, who would run a plywood business from Mancheswar, was coming from the direction of Saheed Nagar with eight-year-old Sheetal, his only daughter, on a scooter. Before they could take a turn at Bomikhal T Junction to reach their home, a portion of the ROB collapsed on them.
Locals rushed to their aid but could not revive the man. Both father and daughter were taken to Capital Hospital where doctors declared Satyabrat ‘brought dead’ and referred Sheetal to AIIMS, Bhubaneswar.
Sheetal, a student of Class III in a private school here, is stable. “She received an injury on her nose,” said health secretary Pramod Kumar Meherda.
Shyamlendu, the elder brother of the deceased, could not control his emotions at the tragic turn of events. “My brother was a happy man. He died due to the fault of the construction company. This is not an accident, it’s murder,” he wept.
Shyamlendu, who stays in Cuttack with his family, said he got to know of the incident from Satyabrat’s wife. “I was so shocked. We have filed a complaint against the company and state government officials,” he added.
Manoj Kumar Nayak, a neighbour of the deceased, said Satyabrat would often take the Saheed Nagar-Bomikhal route to bring his daughter home from dance class on Sundays. “I chatted with him only three days ago. I cannot believe that he is dead,” he said.
Nayak said Satyabrat had many friends among businessmen, media professionals and government officials. Around 100 businessmen gathered at Capital Hospital to receive his body but tempers flared after the hospital allegedly delayed conducting a postmortem.