Medininagar (Jharkhand), Sep 23: Six people, including four minors, drowned in two separate incidents in Jharkhand’s Palamu district on Wednesday during the ceremonial immersion of tree branches worshipped at the tribal festival Karam, police said.
Five of the deaths were reported in Bokaya village and the other in Nani Jharia hamlet.
The state celebrated Karam, one of the biggest tribal festivals after Sarhul, on Tuesday.
The festival concludes with the immersion of a branch of Karam tree that was worshipped during the festival.
Chief Minister Hemant Soren termed the incidents heartbreaking.
“The news of people drowning in the river during the ‘Karam dali visarjan’ in Palamu is extremely heartbreaking and distressing. My deepest condolences go out to the families of all the deceased who lost their lives in this painful incident,” Soren posted on X.
He added: “I pray to Marang Buru for peace to the souls of the departed and for strength to the grieving families to bear this immense sorrow.”
Palamu SP Kapil Choudhary said an eight-year-old boy had drifted deep into the Koel river during the immersion ceremony in Bokaya village. Four people jumped in to rescue him, and all of them drowned, he said.
The bodies have been recovered from the river and sent for post-mortem, he added.
The deceased have been identified as Amit Kumar Thakur (22), Nitish Kumar Singh (18), Vishal Paswan (16), Raja Singh (12) and Hemant Kumar Singh (8).
In Nani Jharia village, 16-year-old Simpi Kumari drowned after she slipped and fell into a pond during an immersion ceremony there.
Police retrieved the body with the help of locals and sent it to Medinirai Medical College and Hospital for post-mortem. (PTI)
