Body of man killed in Russia reaches Ganjam

Berhampur: A pall of gloom descended on Madhabandha village in Ganjam district’s Chikiti block after the mortal remains of migrant worker A Ramaya reached his native place on Thursday evening, six days after he was killed in a massive drone attack in Moscow on Sunday.Grief-stricken family members and villagers bid a tearful farewell as his last rites were performed at the village cremation ground.The body was brought to the village following intervention of the district administration after the family appealed to Ganjam collector V Keerthi Vassan. “We wrote to the Indian embassy in Moscow and remained in constant touch. The embassy facilitated the transportation of the body,” the collector said.

Block officials and labour department representatives were present when the remains arrived.Ramaya had been working as a structural fitter with a construction firm at an oil refinery in the Moscow region. He was among a group of workers waiting for a bus to return to their accommodation around 5 am (local time), when the drone strike occurred. He died on the spot, while two other workers from Ganjam were injured. They are undergoing treatment in Moscow and are stated to be stable, sources said.

A Ganesh, elder brother of the deceased, said Ramaya had returned to Moscow on March 22 after spending about a month in the village. “We expected him to come back by the end of the year. We never imagined his return would be like this,” he said.Vasudev Reddy, a Berhampur-based agent who accompanied the body, said it was flown from Moscow to Bhubaneswar and then taken to the village by ambulance. He added that the company has assured compensation to the family.