A youth drowned in the Surabardi Lake on Amravati Road on Tuesday afternoon when he entered the lake to take a bath to remove Holi colours from his body. The deceased has been identified as Raj Suresh Tiwari a resident of Sahu Layout, Dattawadi. His friend was also about to drown while saving Raj but was saved by the alertness of other friends.
Raj celebrated Holi with his friends on Tuesday. He and his two friends rushed to Surabardi Iake at 1.30 pm to take a bath to remove Holi colours from their bodies. Raj and his friend KhuShal Hondekar started washing near the bank. His other friends sat close by. Suddenly, Raj's foot slipped. He fell into the lake and started drowning. Khushal was near him. Seeing Rai drowning, he also jumped into the lake. Seeing the commotion, two other friends and people nearby ran for help They somehow saved Khushal, but Rai could not be traced.
They notified the Wadi police, who launched a search. On not finding Raj’s body, they called diver Jagdish Khare for help.
Meanwhile, Kushal realising that Raj had drowned tried to jump into the lake, saying, "My friend has drowned.
I do not want to live" However, friends prevented him from jumping. Diver Jagdish Khaze could locate Raj's body after 90 minutes of toil. Raj's father is a physically challenged person. Apart from his parents, Raj has a sister. He was working for a private firm and was the sole breadwinner. The police have registered a case of accidental death.