Two minor age boys drowned in percolation tank

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar:

In a tragic incident two minor age boys drowned while swimming in a pond in the Sonkheda area of Khuldabad tehsil at around 3 pm on Saturday. The deceased have been identified as Aniket Ramesh Bankar (16, Deolana Budruk, presently residing in Ghodegaon) and Akash Ramesh Gore (16, resident of Ghodegaon).

Both Aniket and Akash, close friends and Class 10 students of Sadguru Janeshwar Secondary School in Ghodegaon, had a holiday from school on Saturday. Around 2 pm, they left home under the pretext of taking cattle for grazing. At about 3 pm, they reached a percolation tank in the Sonkheda area. After removing their footwear and clothes on the bank, they entered the water body to swim. However, misjudging the depth of the water, both boys drowned.

Meanwhile, a cattle grazer from a nearby field noticed their footwear and clothes on the tank’s edge. Sensing something wrong, he alerted villagers from Ghodegaon and Sonkheda. Locals rushed to the spot and began searching for the boys but could not find them. The village police patil then informed Khuldabad police.

Acting upon the information, PSI Raghunath Pandhare, head constable Uttam Khatke, Anand Arsule, and others soon reached the spot. By then, skilled swimmers from Ghodegaon and Sonkheda had entered the water body and, after an extensive search, managed to bring both boys out of the water. Aniket was rushed to the primary health centre at Gadana, while Akash was taken to the government hospital at Khuldabad. Doctors examined both the boys and declared them dead.