Two boys drown in Chandu Budhera canal

Two boys, both aged 16, drowned in the Chandu Budhera canal while out swimming with friends on Saturday afternoon. The victims were identified as Sandeep and Shivam.

While Sandeep was a Class-10 student, Shivam studied in Class-11 at a government school in Garhi Harsaru village. Both were residents of the same village, police said.

Ajayveer Bhadana, station house officer (SHO), Rajender Park police station, said that the victims, along with their friends, arrived at the canal around 11.30pm to take a swim. The Chandu Budhera canal has a depth of over 20 feet.

“Around 12.30pm, we received a call that two boys had drowned while swimming. We rushed to the spot and fished them out,” Bhadana said.

He said both were rushed to the civil hospital, but were declared brought dead. Two fine engines were also rushed to the scene before the police arrived.

The bodies were sent for a post mortem examination in the afternoon and were handed over to their families on Saturday evening. An eyewitness who refused to be named, said that the boys were swimming in the canal and went into deep waters. As one of them started drowning, the other tried to rescue him. Both drowned, the eyewitness said.

Assistant sub inspector Ravinder, the investigating officer in the case, said that the boys drowned somewhere near the area where they had removed their clothes and shoes. No case has been registered as yet.

The SHO said that cases of drowning were common in the canal and even though people are advised not take a swim in it, they do not pay heed. HTC