Eid-ul-Azha celebrations turned into mourning for a family after four sisters, all minors, drowned in a river in Balrampur district, police said on Tuesday. The deceased were identified as Reshma (13), Afsana (11), Guddi (9), and Lalli (7), all from Kalu Bankat village.
The victims had visited their maternal grandmother’s house in Rehra Bazar on the occasion of Eid-ul-Azha. They went to the Kuano river to take a dip and drowned when they ventured into deep waters, the police said.
“During the evening hours, all four sisters went to the Kuwano river next to the village. All of them drowned there,” Balrampur Superintendent of Police (SP) Keshav Kumar said.
The SP further said that the bodies were fished out from the river with the help of the villagers. Village head Jabir Ali said that there was a happy atmosphere in the family.
Raju, a resident of Kalubankat village of the same police station area, had six daughters and three sons. Raju’s wife had come with all her children to celebrate Bakrid at her maternal home in Masihabad Grint. According to the village head, the children had food after the sacrifice. Thereafter, when it was very hot in the evening, the four sisters went to take a bath in the Kuano river and drowned.
In another incident in Bijnor, two brothers who visited their uncle’s house for Bakrid also drowned in a river. Reports said that Ayan (20) and Sonu (25), who hailed from Madhapur locality of Siwan, came to their uncle Asif’s residence in Mukarpuri area of Bijnor.
After performing Bakrid prayers, they went to take bath with their uncle in a nearby river due to hot and humid weather. While taking bath, Ayan and Sonu went into deep waters and started drowning. Asif went to rescue them but all the three died. Their bodies were fished out by some locals.
Meanwhile, six people who went to take bath in the Ganga river at Panchal Ghat in Kadrigate area of Farrukhabad drowned. Some divers rescued Pranshu (8), Wishu and Piyush Kushwaha, while the bodies of Dharmendra Singh (40), Ankit (23), and Lucky (20) were fished out. A case was registered and bodies sent for autopsy.
Five more people, including four children, drowned in three separate incidents in Aligarh on Monday.
Reports said that Alok (18) of Usmanpur, Saumya (4) of Dado, and Ruby (9), Damini (7) & Rajshree(10) of Bijauli in Aligarh drowned when they went to take bath in the river under Harduaganj locality of Aligarh. The bodies were taken out and handed over to their families.
Meanwhile, in the Itiyathok locality of Gonda, two cars collided head-on near Benduli village on Itiyathok-Khargupur road and caught fire. Ankit Shukla of Balrampur district died on the spot, while his sister-in-law Priyanka died during treatment at a medical college. Of the seven injured, three are said to be in a critical condition.
On Monday evening, Aliullah of Rehra village of Belva Bahuta of Itiyathok had gone to Nand Nagar village of Khargupur with his family to celebrate Bakrid. While returning, there was a head-on collision with an Alto coming from Itiyathok near the turn of Benduli village. The accident was so severe that both the cars caught fire. The youths playing there broke the glass of the car and took out the injured.
According to the police, Aliullah, Kalimunnisha, Heena, Arman, Chandtara (residents of Rehra village) and Amit Shukla, his wife Renu Devi, sister-in-law Priyanka and ten-year-old son Vinayak Shukla (residents of Achanakpur in Balrampur district) were injured. Ankit Shukla died on the spot, while Priyanka succumbed in a hospital.
The condition of Renu Devi, Vinayak and Aliullah is said to be critical. Inspector in-charge Pradeep Shukla said that the kin of the deceased had been informed.
