Odisha: ADM collapses on stage while singing Jagannath bhajan, dies later

An additional district magistrate (ADM) collapsed on the stage while singing a Jagannath bhajan at a get-together of government officials in Odisha's Gajapati district and later died, an official said on Thursday, 11 July.

The deceased, identified as Birendra Kumar Das, was serving as ADM (Revenue) in Gajapati district. A video clip of the incident which took place on Wednesday evening went viral on social media.

"The ADM suddenly collapsed while singing a bhajan and was taken to a local hospital, where it was found that his blood pressure was very high. After preliminary treatment, he was shifted to MKCG Medical and Hospital in Berhampur, where doctors declared him brought dead," Gajapati collector Smruti Ranjan Pradhan said.

He was an able administrator and the entire district administration mourned his death, Pradhan said.

Chandrakant Mallick, a relative of the deceased officer, said that a get-together of officers was organised to mark the completion of elections.

When he (Das) went on stage and was singing an Odia devotional song of Lord Jagannath, he suddenly collapsed.

Sangram Keshari Panda, administrative officer of MKCG Medical College and Hospital said, "After getting information from the collector, we had formed a team of doctors and received him (Das) around midnight but by that time, he was no more."

From preliminary medical examination, it was found that he died of massive cardiac arrest, he said.

Meanwhile, chief minister Mohan Charan Majhi expressed deep grief over the death of the official.

He was a dedicated and responsible officer and always worked for the service of the public, the chief minister said in a statement.

Stating that the state has lost an efficient administrative officer, Majhi expressed his condolences to the bereaved family of the ADM.