Daltonganj: A 56-year-old man with failing eyesight drowned after he lost his way barely a short distance from home and fell into a water body at Baniyo village in Latehar district on Saturday night, police said.Nanhu Oraon, a resident of Baniyo, was returning from a local market with his wife on Saturday when the tragedy occurred. As the couple neared their house, his wife walked ahead, unaware that Oraon, who was suffering from cataract and had poor vision, had fallen behind.Police said Oraon apparently became disoriented in the dark and slipped into the water body under Balumath police station limits.Balumath police station officer in-charge Anubhav Sinha said no one saw him fall. Villagers said the water body is rarely visited at night, and even if Oraon had cried for help, there was little chance anyone would have heard him.When Oraon did not return home, his family began searching nearby areas through the night. But they did not suspect that he could have fallen into the water body.Nearly 12 hours later, on Sunday morning, villagers spotted his body floating in the water and informed police.Police, with the help of locals, recovered the body and sent it to Sadar Hospital, Latehar, for post-mortem examination. Investigators have ruled out foul play and said the case prima facie appeared to be one of accidental drowning.Under state disaster management provisions, Oraon’s family is eligible for Rs 4 lakh as ex gratia relief. Police have asked the family to keep documents such as Aadhaar card, death certificate and post-mortem report ready to complete the relief process.
