Bhopal, Sep 25: Four persons drowned while five others were feared dead in separate incidents during Ganesh idol immersions in Madhya Pradesh on Friday, police said.
In Dhar, three youths drowned during Ganesh idol immersion in a pond on Dolchi Road in Badnawar, around 60 km from the district headquarters, an official said.
The bodies of Pawan alias Kanhaiya Rathore (19), Rahul Prajapat (20) and Nihal Bhambhi (21) have been retrieved, he added.
Additional Superintendent of Police Parul Velapurkar said the three had gone around 500 metres beyond the designated immersion site when one of them entered deep water and began drowning. His friends went into the water to rescue him but all three drowned, she said.
In Bhind, three boys aged 16-17 went missing around 4.30 pm after entering the Sindh river near Kanawar village to immerse an idol, Superintendent of Police Suraj Verma told reporters.
The missing boys were identified as Krishna Bhadauria, Abhijit Bhadauria and Madan Bhadauria. “A search operation was launched amid rain, but strong currents in the river have made the search difficult,” SP Verma said.
In Khandwa, five boys entered a water-filled quarry near Nahalda village for Ganesh idol immersion around 4.30 pm and began to drown.
While three of them were rescued by local youths, brothers Vishwas (17) and Laksh (16) are missing, police said.
In Sehore, 16-year-old Atul Ahirwar, a resident of Silakheda, drowned after entering deep water at a quarry located about 1.5 km from the Silakheda-Mungaoli road during Ganesh idol immersion.
According to villagers, Atul was pulled out after 30 minutes and taken to Ahmedpur and subsequently to the Doraha health centre, where doctors declared him dead.
Additional Superintendent of Police Prashant Choubey said a case of accidental death has been registered. (PTI)
