Paithan canal accident: Woman’s body found after 33 hours

Lokmat News Network

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar:

The body of Nilofar Mukid Shaikh (30, resident of Koradgaon), who had gone missing after a car plunged into the right canal of the Jayakwadi project passing through Changatpuri area, was finally found on Wednesday at around 7 am, nearly 33 hours after the accident. Her body was seen trapped in the canal in the Gulaj area of Gevrai tehsil.

Mukid Ahmed Shaikh (35) and his wife Nilofar Shaikh, residents of Koradgaon (Pathardi) in Ahilyanagar district, had set out by car on Monday night after breaking their Ramzan fast to travel towards Isarwadi. On the way, they picked up their relative Altaf Pathan from Hadgaon (Shevgaon). At around 11.30 pm in Changatpuri, the driver attempted to reverse the car after losing the way. However, he lost control and the car plunged directly into the deep waters of the right canal.

After the accident, driver Altaf Pathan managed to swim to safety, but the Shaikh couple and Raosaheb Khadekar, a youth from Changatpuri who jumped into the canal to save them, went missing in the water. With the help of villagers, police retrieved the car the same night using a JCB machine, but no one was found inside. Police inspector Mahadev Gomare, sub-inspector Pramod Yadav, along with the fire brigade team, carried out a search operation throughout the night.

At around 7 am on Wednesday, a farmer from Gulaj in Gevrai tehsil of Beed district noticed a body stuck to the hook of his motor pump when he went to start it at the canal. Upon receiving the information, police rushed to the spot and recovered the body, which was identified as Nilofar Shaikh. After completing the panchnama, the body was sent to the rural hospital in Paithan for post-mortem examination.

Search for two continues

Mukid Shaikh and Nilofar Shaikh had left their 12-year-old daughter and 8-year-old son with their uncle before beginning the journey, but tragedy struck them on the way. The search for the missing Mukid Shaikh and Raosaheb Khadekar is still underway, with police and fire brigade teams continuing the operation.