Village pond turns grave for three boys in Odisha

KENDRAPARA: A pall of gloom enveloped Bagapatia in Kendrapara’s Rajnagar after three schoolboys drowned while taking bath in the village pond on Friday.The deceased boys, aged between 12 and 13 years, were Class VII students of Panchubarahi high school at Bagapatia. They were identified as Vishal Raj Rout (13), Brijabhusan Parida (12) and Sambit Sahoo (13).

Sources said the trio went to take bath in the village pond at around 9.30 am. One of them slipped into a deep hole inside the pond. On seeing their friend drowning, the rest two went to rescue him. However, they too got stuck in the hole and drowned. Sources said though the boys cried for help, their screams went unheard as no villager was present near the pond.

When the boys did not return home, their families members became worried and frantically searched for them. At around 12.30 pm, a villager spotted the shoes of the minors near the pond. Fearing the worst, family members went inside the water body and recovered the three bodies.IIC of Rajnagar police station Srikant Barik said on being informed, police reached Bagapatia village. The bodies were seized and sent to the community health centre (CHC) at Aul for autopsy.

Heart-rending scenes unfolded in the village after the bodies were brought from the hospital. Family members, relatives and friends wept inconsolably on seeing the lifeless bodies of the three boys.“This is an unimaginable tragedy which has shaken Bagapatia and nearby villages. The boys were loved by everyone in the area,” said Sudarshan Das, a villager of Bagapatia.