A tragic incident occurred in Gorakhpur on Wednesday when a 16-year-old Class X student drowned in a pond while making a social media reel with his friends. The victim, identified as Shivam Gupta, a resident of Bagahi village in the Belipar area, had gone to the pond near Shiv Mandir at Bhauvapar along with three companions. According to police, the group arrived at the temple pond around 11:30 am on a motorcycle.
Sequence of Events
Eyewitnesses reported that two of the boys entered the water to bathe, while one stayed on the bank to guard their belongings, and another began recording videos on a mobile phone. Shivam reportedly slipped into a deeper section of the pond and started drowning. The friend who was filming noticed him struggling and jumped into the water in an attempt to rescue him, but was unable to reach him in time. Panic ensued, and the boys raised an alarm, drawing nearby residents to the scene who initiated rescue efforts.
Rescue Operation
Upon receiving information from the temple administration, police from the Belipar station arrived at the location. They promptly called in the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) personnel and local divers. The search operation lasted nearly four hours before the team recovered Shivam’s body from the pond. The body was subsequently sent to BRD Medical College for post-mortem examination.
Shivam, the elder of two brothers, was a student of Class X. The incident has sent shockwaves through the local community, highlighting the dangers of reckless behavior near water bodies while filming content for social media.
