VARANASI: At least four persons, including two girls from a family, drowned in the river Ganga while bathing near Shivrampur Ghat under City Kotwali police station in Ballia district on Sunday morning.
Incident Details
The victims had gone to attend a Mundan (tonsuring) ceremony when the incident occurred. Local divers and the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) retrieved all four bodies from the river.
After taking stock of the incident site, Ballia's District Magistrate Mangala Prasad Singh and Superintendent of Police Omvir Singh stated that around 8 am, four persons, including two girls, slipped into deep water while bathing in the Ganga. On seeing them in trouble, local boatmen and divers swung into action. Police, fire brigade, and SDRF also launched a search operation and succeeded in retrieving all four bodies.
Identification of Victims
The deceased were identified as Harshita Chauhan, 17, her sister Nandita Chauhan, 12, of Garh Rampur Bhoj under Gadwar police station; their relative Arun Chauhan, 20, of Kalyanpur under Fefna police station in Ballia; and Arjun Chauhan, 19, of Ghazipur, who was currently residing at the home of his maternal uncle at Kalyanpur in Fefna, said City Magistrate (CO) Mohd Usman, who camped at the ghat to monitor the search operation. The bodies were sent for post-mortem examination, and further legal proceedings were underway.
Sequence of Events
During the initial investigation, police found that family members and relatives of Vashisth Chauhan of Kalyanpur under Fefna police station area went to Shivrampur Ghat (Byasi) on Sunday morning to perform the rituals of Mundan (tonsuring) of a child.
Everything was proceeding normally, but around 8 am, four girls started to drown while bathing in the Ganga. On seeing them in trouble, people, including Arun and Arjun, and boatmen jumped into the river to save them. Two girls were rescued. However, Arun, Arjun, Harshita, and Nandita could not be saved. The incident caused panic along the riverbank as cries and screams broke out among family members and relatives.
Authorities have initiated further investigation, and the bodies have been sent for post-mortem examination. Legal proceedings are underway.
