Eight drown in separate incidents in Madhya Pradesh

Vidisha/Khandwa:A jawan of the Special Armed Force (SAF) and a doctor were among eight persons who drowned in separate incidents in Vidisha, Sehore and Khandwa districts of Madhya Pradesh, officials said on Monday.

Five persons drowned in the Betwa River in different ghat areas in Vidisha district, while a doctor drowned during a picnic at Digambar waterfall in Sehore district, and two teenage girls drowned in the Agni River in Khandwa district, officials said.

The incidents occurred on Sunday, and some bodies were retrieved on Monday morning, they said.

Ashwin Krishnan Iyer (28), a doctor at a private hospital in Bhopal, drowned while bathing at Digambar waterfall on Sunday, Shahganj police station in-charge Pankaj Wadekar said.

The State Disaster Emergency Response Force (SDERF) fished out the doctor's body after a 17-hour search operation on Monday morning, he said.

Iyer had come to the waterfall for a picnic with a friend, and the security personnel deployed there had stopped them from bathing in the waterbody. But the duo managed to sneak in from another route, sub-divisional officer of police Shashank Gurjar said.

In Vidisha, five persons drowned in different ghats of the Betwa River, and three bodies were retrieved on Monday morning, officials said.

The drownings occurred at Bangla, Rangai and Barri ghats, an official said.

Harendra Chouhan (30), a constable with the 23rd battalion of the SAF, and Sandeep (26) drowned on Sunday evening, SDERF commandant Rashmi Dubey said.

Their bodies were fished out on Monday morning, she said.

Dubey said the SDERF also retrieved the bodies of Ankit Ahirwar (18) and Krishna Ahirwar (19), who drowned at Rangai Ghat on Sunday.

In another incident, Raghvendra Chouhan (24) slipped and fell into the river while travelling on a motorcycle with his sister on the Barri Ghat bridge on Sunday, she said.

While villagers managed to rescue Chouhan's sister, he was swept away, and his body was recovered this morning, the official said.

In Khandwa, two 18-year-old girls drowned while taking a holy dip in the Agni River under the Ashapura police post on Sunday, Superintendent of Police (SP) Manoj Rai said.

Bodies of Jyoti and Shivani were fished out by the police with the help of locals, he said.