In a tragic incident, a 15-year-old inmate of a local blind school here died of drowning in a nearby pond.
The Cuttack district collector today placed the principal and an attendant of the school under suspension after the boy's body was fished out from the pond.
Bhagirathi Dash (15) of Bhadrak district, an inmate of the Nuapada-based school hostel in the city went missing on Sunday afternoon.
Informing the police and the boy's father in Bhadrak, the school authorities launched a massive manhunt for Dash, who had over 90 per cent vision deficiency in both eyes.
However, the police fished out the body of Bhagirathi today from the pond and inquest reports indicated that the boy had no external injuries in his body.
Sources said the boy, who did not know swimming, might have slipped into the pond and could not escape from it.
Ordering an administrative probe into the incident, district collector Nirmal Mishra on Monday suspended the school headmistress Minati Routray and attendant Nalini Swain for dereliction of duty.
