GUWAHATI, April 15 � Additional Director of the Intelligence Bureau (IB), Raghunath Behura, who was injured in a car accident on April 9, breathed his last at the GNRC Hospital around 5.45 am today. He was 55 and survived by his wife and a son, who is doing research in United States of America.
Behura, and Additional Director General of Assam Police, Pallab Bhattacharya, were coming back from Numaligarh after probing the fire at the Numaligarh Refinery when the vehicle in which they were travelling collided with a truck in the Sonapur area on the night of April 9.
The critically injured Behura was immediately shifted to the GNRC Hospital in an unconscious state and though his condition slightly improved after two days of treatment and he started recognizing people, he developed lung infection on April 13 and recorded very high fever. His condition started deteriorating since last night and he suffered as many as four cardiac arrests before breathing his last.
Behura�s wife and son were with him when he breathed his last.
Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi rushed to the GNRC Hospital to pay his last respects to the departed soul and described Behura as one of the finest officers that he had met. He also said that the death of Behura would be a great loss to the country.
Governor JB Patnaik also condoled the death of Behura, while, senior State Government officials along with officers of the Army , Police and central paramilitary forces also paid their last respects. The mortal remains of Behura were taken to the office of the Subsidiary Intelligence Bureau (SIB) to enable the officers and staff to pay homage before being flown to his native place Bhubaneswar in a special flight. The cremation will take place in Bhubaneswar tomorrow.
Behura joined the Indian Police Service (IPS) as a Manipur-Tripura cadre officer in 1979 and joined the IB in the early 1980s. He also served the IB in Dhaka. He was known to be an expert on affairs of the North East region and was working as the Additional Director heading the NE states of the IB at the time of his death.
