Pune: 4 Men Drown During Ganesh Idol Immersion, 2 Bodies Recovered

Pune Ganpati Visarjan 2025: Four men drowned during Ganesh idol immersion in separate incidents in Pune district on Saturday, police said. Two of them died, while search operations are underway for the other two. In Waki Budruk near Priyadarshan School, Abhishek Sanjay Bhakre (21) of Koyali village, and Anand Jaiswal (28) of Uttar Pradesh, were swept away in the Bhima river during the immersion. Jaiswal’s body was recovered, while teams of police, NDRF, fire brigade and rescue workers are searching for Bhakre.

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At Shelpimpalgaon in Khed taluka, 45-year-old Ravindra Vasudev Choudhary was carried away by the river while immersing the idol. In another incident at Biradwadi, 35-year-old Sandesh Popat Nikam slipped during immersion and drowned. His body was later recovered and sent to Chakan Rural Hospital.

Police said crowds had gathered across rivers, ponds and wells for immersion despite repeated appeals to avoid entering water bodies. Officials said the warning was ignored in several places, leading to these tragic deaths.