1.  Regret to inform about the sad demise of Cmde PK Samanta VSM (R), yesterday 08 Apr 25 at around 1930 hrs. The officer was suffering from pancreatitis and was admitted to the hospital for about a fortnight where he breathed his last yesterday.

2.  Cmde Samanta, born in Sep 1948, on completion of BE Mechanical from the North Bengal Univ, joined the Navy in Nov 1970 in the NAI cadre. The officer joined Kuthar as a watchkeeping officer in 1973 on completion of the basic training and the subs courses. He underwent NTSC course at DIAT Pune and was then deputed to Italy for a course on A244S torpedo. He also underwent training in MATRA France on maintenance of R550 missiles.

3.  He served at NAI Mumbai from 1977 to 1981 and at NHQ from 1981 to 1985. He was then appointed as Project Manager for Project Trishul from 1985 to 1994, after which he moved as CINA at ordnance factory Jabalpur. He also did a tenure as CINA Vizag before retirement in 2003, after which he joined BDL as Director in Jan 2004, where he served till Sep 2008.

4.  He is survived by his spouse Smt Priti Samanta, son Rajrishi and daughter Malavika both settled in UK.

5.  Funeral and Last Rites were held on 09 Apr 25 at 1300 hrs at Jubilee Hills Mahaprasthanam.