Four girls drown in pond while collecting lotus plants in Uttar Pradesh's Bahraich

Bahraich: Four girls, aged between 10 to 14 years, drowned in a pond in a village here on Tuesday, police said.

According to the police, the victims -- Mehak Khatoon (14), Samia (10), Saiba (10) and Sarikul Khatoon (13) -- had gone in the pond to pull lotus plants when they slipped into deep water and drowned.

The incident took place in Sattijor village under Nawabganj police station area, they said.

Sub Divisional Magistrate (SDM) Nanpara Ashwini Kumar Pandey said bodies of the victims have been sent for postmortem.

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath expressed his condolences and announced financial assistance of Rs 4 lakh each to the families of the victims.