Overview
- Residents of Parashurampur village say a relief packet dropped from a low-flying Indian Air Force helicopter struck Anil Kumar Singh and killed him while he waited to collect supplies on Friday.
- Police have sent Singh’s body for a post-mortem and say no visible external injury marks were found so the precise cause will be confirmed by the autopsy as part of an active investigation.
- A separate incident during the same operation injured a woman and two children when downdraft and blown debris struck them; the woman sustained a fracture and the children received minor injuries and were treated.
- District officials say IAF helicopters had delivered more than 28 tonnes of food in roughly 5,600 dry-ration packets across about 15 sorties to reach flood-isolated villages that are cut off by Gandak River breaches.
- The case has focused attention on airdrop safety, crowd control and coordination between the district administration, disaster teams and the IAF and could prompt changes in drop procedures as relief continues for thousands displaced across roughly 170 villages.