Lokmat News Network
Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar:
A Class 9 student drowned on Thursday around 2 pm after going for a swim with friends in the Undangaon minor irrigation project reservoir, soon after completing his geography exam. After nearly 26 hours of search, fire brigade personnel recovered his body at around 3 pm on Friday. The deceased has been identified as Ritesh Nandkishor Giri (15), a resident of Khullod in Sillod tehsil.
Ritesh was a student of Class 9 at Savitribai Phule School in Undangaon. On Thursday afternoon, after returning home from his geography exam, he went with five friends to swim in the reservoir. The group reached the middle of the water body in an iron boat, from where they jumped into the water and swam back towards the shore. However, Ritesh did not return.
Around 10 pm, information about Ritesh drowning came to light, following which a search operation was initiated. Due to darkness, the search faced difficulties at night. From Friday morning, local fishermen from Undangaon and fire brigade personnel from Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar carried out the search operation. At around 3 pm, nearly 26 hours later, Ritesh’s body was finally recovered from the reservoir. An accidental death has been registered at Ajanta police station.
Friends did not inform about the drowning
After Ritesh drowned, his friends fled the spot and did not inform the family. When he did not return home till evening, his family began searching for him. Tanta Mukti Committee president Kailas Wagh had seen the boys together earlier in the afternoon. Based on this, the boys were questioned around 10 pm, after which they revealed the entire incident.
A bright student, pillar of support for his mother
Ritesh was known to be a bright student in school, his friends said. Since childhood, he had been living in Khullod with his mother and elder brother at his maternal uncle’s place. His death has deeply affected his mother. After post-mortem at the sub-district hospital in Sillod, his last rites were performed in Khullod around 6 pm on Friday in a grief-stricken atmosphere.