Descendants of freedom fighter Laxmi Indira Panda on Saturday staged a protest at Jeypore in Koraput district, demanding expeditious police investigation to trace her grandson, Babula Panda, who went missing on April 16 at the railway station here.
Babula’s parents, Surendra Panda and Sujata Panda, were among the descendants of freedom fighters felicitated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the Raj Bhavan here. Babula had accompanied his parents to the function.
Laxmi Indira Panda had joined Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose’s Indian National Army in the Rani Jhansi Regiment when she was only 14 years old, and fought against the British for the country’s Independence.
Separated at station
Just an hour before Babula and his parents were to board the Hirakhand Express from Bhubaneswar to return to Jeypore, the three got separated at the railway station.
While Babula’s father Surendra Panda reached Jeypore a day later, his mother Sujata Panda boarded a wrong train and landed in Balasore, from where she was rescued. But Babula could not be traced.
Subsequently, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik directed the police to find Babula, but the police had made no headway till Saturday. “It is duty of the government to find our son,” said Ms. Panda.
