Boy fights croc, saves uncle from jaws of death  

KENDRAPARA : IN a display of exemplary courage, a 12-year-old boy fought with an estuarine crocodile to save his 28-year-old uncle’s life in a creek within Bhitarkanika National Park here on Tuesday evening.  Binod Mallick and his nephew Situ Mallick were keeping a watch on their harvested paddy crop in Kandira village under Rajnagar block when the incident occurred.

After dinner, Binod was cleaning himself in a nearby creek when a salt-water crocodile caught hold of his hand and tried to drag him into water. Finding his uncle’s life in danger, Situ, who was standing nearby, grabbed a bamboo stick and attacked the crocodile following which the reptile lost its grip on Binod’s hand. The boy then dragged his uncle to safety.

Situ is a student of Class IX in Basudev High School in Kandira.
Binod sustained injuries on his hands in the attack and is now undergoing treatment at the district headquarters hospital. Doctors said his life is out of danger and he is responding well to treatment. Bhitarkanika DFO Bimal Prasanna Acharya said residents of riverside villages have been repeatedly warned not to enter rivers, ponds.