The bodies of two youths from Bani village here, who drowned in Indira Gandhi Canal in Rajasthan, were recovered on Saturday morning after a 42-hour search operation.
The victims, Manish and Mohit, went missing on Thursday while bathing in the canal. Police, divers and villagers had been searching for them continuously since the incident. Their bodies were spotted near Talwara Bridge around 6.30 am on Saturday, and were pulled out by divers.
After postmortem examination at the government hospital in Tibbi, Rajasthan, police handed over the bodies to the families. The last rites were performed in Bani village on Saturday afternoon amid grief.
According to villagers, the two youths had gone to the canal with friends on Thursday morning. They jumped into the water but were swept away by the strong current. Locals said the canal near Surewala Bridge is about 220 ft wide and 30 ft deep. Recent cleaning had raised both the water level and flow rate, making it difficult for them to swim to safety.
The tragedy has deeply affected the village as each victim was the only son in his family.
Manish’s father had died years earlier, and he supported his widowed mother and grandmother by working as a labourer after leaving school. Mohit left studies after Class 10 and worked as a waiter with a tent-hiring business. He was also the sole breadwinner in his family.
Their untimely deaths have left both families devastated and plunged the entire village into grief.
