Sambalpur, April 18 : In a most tragic incident, a young scientist working in ISRO drowned in his native village pond on Monday. The incident took place in Jharpali village under the Ambabhona block of Bargarh district. The deceased is Nihar Ranjan Pradhan son of Rajkumar Pradhan of Jharpali, police said. Nihar completed his schooling in village schools and college education in Bhukta, before he enrolled at IISST (Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology) Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala. In January 2021, he joined ISRO in the post of Scientist and had been working there for the last one year and three months. But on Monday while taking bath he slipped and he couldn’t save himself as he did not know swimming, sources from the villagers said. Villagers and family members immediately rushed him to Ambabhona Hospital where doctors declared him brought dead. The untimely death of a talented boy from a remote village belonging to a farmer’s family sent shock waves in the area. All the people including Susanta Singh, the minister and MLA from the district, Debesh Acharya, Snehangini Chhuria-all MLAs condoled the death of the young scientist who created a void in the county. “ Nihar’s death is a loss to the nation,” Minister Singh said. XC DP ARN